Supreme Court answers: ‘external entrepreneurship’ is a full viewpoint when assessing employment relationship

A number of preliminary questions were raised by the Court of Appeal in the Uber case. On Friday 21 February 2025, the Supreme Court issued an important ruling in which the Supreme Court answered these questions. 

What did the Supreme Court consider? 

The Supreme Court had to assess whether the entrepreneurship of a self-employed person could be decisive in determining whether an employment contract existed. The Supreme Court also wanted an answer to the question whether two people, doing the same work for the same client, could still be judged differently if one person is clearly an entrepreneur and the other is not.

What does the Supreme Court say? 

• External entrepreneurship counts as heavily as all other Deliveroo viewpoints. So there is no ranking.
• Two people doing the same work can still be judged differently: one can be self-employed and the other employee.
• Entrepreneurship is not only considered within the job, but must also be viewed more broadly (for example, whether someone has multiple clients or runs their own business). Circumstances outside the working relationship are thus also relevant. 

What does this mean for client? 

Clients should pay close attention to how they work with self-employed workers. It is not enough to put in a contract that someone is a self-employed person, all the circumstances of the case count. If someone clearly behaves as an entrepreneur (multiple clients, own business operations, entrepreneurial risk), he or she is more likely to be considered self-employed as well.

What can a client do? 

✔ Check your contracts: Make sure agreements with self-employed workers match the way work is done in practice.
✔ Make clear agreements: Lay down clearly how the self-employed person behaves as an entrepreneur. Consider own advertising, registration with the Chamber of Commerce and soliciting clients independently.
✔ Keep up to date: Legislation and case-law on labour relations change quickly. Keep an eye on this to avoid unpleasant surprises.

By properly recording agreements, you limit the risk that a ‘zzp'er’ will be classified as an employee after all - with all the associated obligations.

Do you have any questions? If so, please contact Dennis Oud, Tessa Sipkema, Elke Hofman-Bijvank of met Tim van Riel. 

You can read the ruling here.