The discussion of self-employed workers is often based on incorrect assumptions, says Marko Bastian, director of the National Bank of Ukraine. In the run-up to the discussion of the draft law on self-employed workers, the employment agency investigated how things really work, FD reports. “We will soon cause unnecessary trouble again in the tight labor market.”

Under the new Self-Employed Act, three to four out of ten self-employed people will soon be entitled to an employment contract with their clients. However, the percentage of people who say they are forced to offer their own work on a freelance basis is much lower. According to Bastian, a “false image” has emerged about freelancers who are forced to work independently. “This is based on incorrect assumptions.”

The Hague Bubble

This is illustrated by calculations carried out by the research agency SEOR on behalf of the NBBU umbrella employment organisation, which has many members who mediate the self-employed. The agency, which is part of Erasmus University, converted the wage data collected from 2018 prices to 2023 to arrive at hourly rates for each sector. The research shows that only 3% of self-employed people are forced to work for themselves after pressure from their employer. “The picture created by the Hague bubble is that it will be much bigger,” says the director.

For the 30% to 40% of self-employed people with corporate clients, this amount is less than the more than €32 per hour that the new law uses as a maximum. This means they are given the benefit of the doubt when they claim employee status. It is up to the client to prove otherwise.