The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets announced yesterday that freelancers can make collective agreements about their pay in order to obtain a minimum income.

The Authority’s draft guidelines refers to freelancers and self-employed persons without employees. Its guideline is in line with the government's initiatives to improve the position of self-employed persons at the bottom of the labour market.

Martijn Snoep, Chairman of the Authority for Consumers and Markets, commented, “We want markets to work well for people and companies. Markets do not work well if self-employed people fall below the subsistence minimum due to low hourly rates. This guide shows the possibilities for self-employed people to improve their income.”

According to DutchNews.nl, freelancers are currently banned from making collective agreements about pay because it would lead to unfair competition and higher prices for consumers.

In June 2019, the Dutch government outlined plans to introduce a minimum rate of €16 an hour for those who are self-employed. The new plans would take effect from 2021 and are aimed at preventing self-employed people working for such a low amount that they cannot afford to ‘make ends meet’.