The Netherlands needs to reduce the incentives given to both employers and employees to work via temporary and self-employment contracts, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

This, the commission said, should go hand in hand with promoting adequate social protection for the self-employed, and tackle bogus self-employment. Brussels made the recommendations as part of its annual report on the Dutch economy.

Self-employment has soared in the Netherlands in the past few years. The CBS said last year that roughly 1.8 million people in the Netherlands work as either full or part-time freelancers.

Social security

The commission points out that government measures to tackle bogus self- employment have been suspended until 2020 and warns that the self-employed are more often under- insured against disability, unemployment and old age.

‘This could affect the sustainability of the social security system in the long run,’ the report stated.

Even though the Dutch labour market performs well overall, there is still untapped potential. ‘In particular the high number of part-time working women and the employment situation of people with a migrant background remain an important challenge,’ the commission points out.