New colleagues, DBA law enforcement and our collaboration: What you need to know as a freelancer

We would like to inform you about a number of developments that are important to our collaboration. In this newsletter, we share what will change, our knowledge of the new legislation, and what you should be aware of as a freelancer. At the bottom of the newsletter, you will find an overview with links to more information about entrepreneurship, both in Dutch and English.

Starting January 1, 2025, the enforcement moratorium will no longer apply. This means that there will be active enforcement of compliance with the DBA law by both clients (companies) and contractors (freelancers/self-employed individuals). The DBA law is designed to protect people who, in practice, work as employees but are formally hired as self-employed contractors. This especially applies to those who work 40 hours per week for a single client in a role they previously performed as an employee.

This does not apply to our collaboration.

You work independently, decide how you structure your training, and take on separate assignments for various clients. So there is no need to worry! We ensure that our collaboration continues to align well with laws and regulations, so that neither you nor we take unnecessary risks.

To avoid potential risks, we will discontinue the use of @OCDopleidingen.nl email addresses for freelancers. Many of you no longer use this email address, but a few still do. These remaining email addresses will also be phased out soon. If this applies to you, you will receive more information on how we will arrange this together. This step is a precaution to clearly define the boundaries of our collaboration.

An important change is that, from now on, our contracts will be for an indefinite period. This means we no longer need to renew contracts every year, saving both of us time and work. We have carefully reviewed this with our lawyer beforehand, as we wanted to be sure that this would not place us in a “gray area” in terms of the DBA law. Fortunately, that is not the case, so we can continue with this format with peace of mind. Less work for us!

It is important to know that you can still terminate the contract in the same way if needed. These termination options remain specified in the contract itself, so nothing changes in this respect either. For each specific assignment, as usual, you will receive a confirmation by email. The new contract will be sent out in mid-November, so keep an eye on your inbox!

As a self-employed person, it is important to know when the government also considers you to be an entrepreneur. The Dutch Tax and Customs Administration and the Chamber of Commerce have certain criteria to determine whether you meet the requirements for entrepreneurship.

Some key criteria are:

• You supply goods or services to various clients.
• You determine how you perform your work and when you work.
• You bear the financial risk for your business. This means that you are responsible for the financial results of your assignments, which involves managing your income, issuing invoices on time, and maintaining clear financial records.
• You have the freedom to refuse assignments. This means that you decide which assignments to accept or decline, without the obligation to always be available.
• You can replace yourself. As a self-employed person, you must be able to engage someone else for the work without being personally obliged to complete all assignments yourself.

These criteria provide an indication of what the government expects from entrepreneurship. Meeting these conditions helps to avoid the impression of a disguised employment relationship, but the final assessment always rests with the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration.

Recently, we said goodbye to several colleagues, as they saw different things in their future than the work they did at OCD Opleidingen. In a short time, we have had this change: Rick, Sue, Linda, and Daniëlle are no longer with us. As a team, we had some nice farewell moments and we wish them much success and happiness in their future careers!

Fortunately, we have also found two very enthusiastic new colleagues who fit perfectly into our team. We would like to introduce them to you! Tessa started with us in October and would like to introduce herself briefly here:

Hello! My name is Tessa Bos, and I started last week as a project manager at OCD Opleidingen. After completing a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Culture and a master’s degree in Literature, I also completed an Educational Master’s degree and have been working as an English teacher in secondary education for the past few years. Since I wanted to get more involved in training for an adult audience, I started looking around and ended up at OCD Opleidingen. I live with my partner in beautiful Nijmegen, but previously lived for a long time in Oosterhout (North Brabant). In my free time, I enjoy reading an (English) book or cooking an elaborate dinner for friends.

We also welcome Marjo as a new colleague on November 18! Although Marjo has done other work in recent years, her heart has always remained with study counseling. When she saw the vacancy with us, she responded quickly and enthusiastically. She will work in a role focused on sales and study advice. Marjo lives with her husband and two daughters in Bathmen, near Deventer, and looks forward to taking this step again.

We wish Marjo and Tessa a successful career at OCD Opleidingen and are happy to have them as part of our team!

We are excited to introduce a new opportunity for our trainers: the online language training pool. This new approach offers trainers who enjoy working online more freedom and flexibility and responds to the demand from clients who want to start their learning process quickly. In this online pool, you have full control over where and when you work. Whether you prefer to teach from home or another location, you choose the place that best suits you. Since everything is online, there is no travel time or travel costs, saving you both time and money. This allows you to schedule more lessons in the time you would normally spend traveling.

As with our regular training courses, we ensure you have direct access to new assignments. We handle acquisition and maintain a constant flow of clients who want to start their online lessons quickly. This means you don’t have to worry about finding new assignments and can fully focus on your core activities: teaching and planning lessons with your students. Additionally, in this setup, we also take care of most administrative tasks. We coordinate the training sessions so you can focus on what you do best. Less administrative work means more focus on content and your students.

Why a lower rate?

The rate for these online lessons is €40 per hour. This rate is lower than what you are used to, but that’s because working in this online pool also offers you advantages: no travel time, no travel costs, more flexibility, and less administrative work. This allows you to work faster and more efficiently and take on more assignments within the same time frame.

Good to know: The rate for physical training remains unchanged at €47.50 per hour. This new rate only applies to online lessons in the language training pool.

This new way of working gives you the opportunity to improve your work-life balance while gaining professional experience with a wide range of business clients. Would you like to learn more or discuss this new opportunity? Feel free to contact us. We are happy to discuss how this model can work for you.

To keep you better informed about available training, we have created two useful overviews: one list for physical training and one for online training. Through the links below, you can sign up for training sessions that interest you. This helps us reach the right people faster, and it’s an easy way for you to indicate your availability. In the list, you can also see which project manager is involved in the training, so you can contact them directly with any questions.

• Link to the list of physical training
• Link to the list of online training

Important for online training

The base rate for online training is €40 per hour. This online training list is part of the pilot we informed you about earlier. Therefore, the rate of €40 per hour applies here. Are you interested in an online training session? Sign up via the list and contact us to discuss what might be possible.

We hope these overviews help you stay quickly and easily informed about the available training opportunities at OCD Opleidingen!

As a self-employed person, it is important to stay well-informed about your entrepreneurship. Websites such as the Tax and Customs Administration and the Chamber of Commerce offer useful checklists and tools to get you started. Through the KvK, you can also find information on the steps you need to take to comply with laws and regulations. In addition, there are regional business associations where you can become a member as a self-employed person. These associations provide a network of like-minded individuals and often offer valuable support, from business tips to growth opportunities. Take a look at business organizations in your region to connect with other self-employed people and strengthen your network.

If you would like to get in touch with other trainers working with OCD, please let your project manager know. We believe it is important to facilitate contact between trainers so that you can learn from each other and share experiences.

• Entrepreneurship - Tax and Customs Administration
• Starting a business – Chamber of Commerce
• DBA Law (Government of the Netherlands)