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How do marketing and sales help demonstrate freelance entrepreneurship?

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Finding clients and building a reputation can help show that a freelancer runs an independent business. The work may come through advertising, recommendations, repeat clients or an agent. What matters is how the business operates and how each assignment is carried out. This Knowledge Item explains the relevant Dutch case law, the requirements for delegating acquisition and the proposed Zelfstandigenwet, a Dutch bill intended to clarify when work can be performed independently.

1. Why do a freelancer’s own marketing and sales activities matter?

Marketing helps potential clients understand what a freelancer offers. Sales includes finding opportunities, discussing an assignment, submitting a proposal and agreeing its commercial terms. These activities can show that the freelancer develops a business of their own. 

In Deliveroo, the Supreme Court expressly included reputation-building and client acquisition among the circumstances relevant to entrepreneurship. Its 2025 Uber judgment confirmed that the assessment can extend beyond the particular client relationship. 

There is an important distinction for professionals working in marketing or sales: promoting a client’s products is part of delivering that client’s assignment. It does not, on its own, demonstrate how the professional obtains clients for their own business. 

Explanation

A freelance consultant may find work through former clients and professional recommendations without spending money on advertising. Another may use a website, networking events or an agent. The useful question is how those activities help the freelancer offer and sell their own services. The absence of a website does not automatically establish employment. Equally, a polished website says little about who controls the work once an assignment begins.

2. What do the court cases tell us about entrepreneurship in practice?

A sales manager could remain independent with one client. In ByBlue, Rotterdam District Court, 20 December 2024, ECLI:NL:RBROT:2024:13328, the court found no employment contract. It considered the manager’s working freedom, commercial risk, invoicing through his businesses and 5% shareholding. He was free to seek other clients. The decision did not depend on proof that he personally advertised his services. 

A registration and website listing did not establish independence. In ’s-Hertogenbosch Court of Appeal, 20 March 2025, ECLI:NL:GHSHE:2025:756, those entries did not substantiate the claimed wider business activity of a security professional. Employment was established on the circumstances as a whole. 

Commission-based sales work could still be employment. In Amsterdam Court of Appeal, 28 February 2019, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2019:1265, a sales and marketing business’s “independent contractors” were employees for payroll-tax purposes. The power to give binding instructions mattered, and result-dependent payment could constitute wages. 

The 2026 Uber appeal confirmed the importance of individual circumstances. On 27 January 2026, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2026:163, Amsterdam Court of Appeal found that the six drivers participating alongside Uber were independent. Its official explanation identifies investment, working choices and risk among the relevant factors. The court left open the possibility that other drivers could be employees. 

Explanation

These cases ask what sits behind the business label. One client may form part of an independent business, while several business documents may coexist with employment. A commission arrangement also needs to be examined in the context of the work and the parties’ obligations.

3. Can a freelancer ask an agent to find and negotiate assignments?

Yes. A freelancer can delegate client acquisition. The agreement should reflect the service actually being provided. 

A business creating advertising material provides marketing support. An intermediary arranging contracts may provide mediation under Article 7:425 BW. An ongoing, paid arrangement to mediate contracts without subordination to the freelancer can qualify as commercial agency under Article 7:428 BW. 

In the agency model, the freelancer is the principal whose services the agent helps sell. The agent may negotiate or sign within an agreed authority. Articles 3:60 and 3:66 BW explain how authorised acts in the freelancer’s name can bind the freelancer. 

Useful arrangements to record include: 

  • The services and prospective clients covered. 

  • The agent’s authority to negotiate and sign, including any approval limits. 

  • Fees, commission and expenses. 

  • Reporting, exclusivity, duration and termination. 

These are practical drafting points. The freelancer’s working relationship and the agent’s own employment and tax position still require separate assessment. The Tax Administration identifies agents and subagents as a group that can fall within a deemed employment relationship for payroll-tax purposes, even where there is no civil-law employment contract. 

Explanation

For example, an agent may find three design clients, discuss their requirements and negotiate within a designer’s agreed price range. Each client contracts with the designer, who is responsible for the design services. That arrangement can provide evidence of business development even though the designer makes none of the initial sales calls. Its evidential value comes from the services and transactions that actually take place.

4. What would the proposed Zelfstandigenwet mean for work obtained through an intermediary?

As of 3 November 2026, the Zelfstandigenwet remains a proposal. Consultation closed on 29 October 2026. The government intends commencement in January 2028; that is not an enacted commencement date. 

The proposal would introduce a safe harbour based on a self-employment test and a work-relationship test. One proposed condition is at least three clients across the previous and current calendar years. 

The draft explanatory memorandum, section 4.2.1.2, distinguishes direct client contracts arranged through mediation from work contracted through one intermediary. In the latter model, the intermediary counts as one client. Direct mediation can lead to several client relationships.

Explanation

Using one agent therefore does not necessarily mean having one client. Look at who undertakes the services towards the client and who is party to the service agreement. The agent’s other customers do not automatically become the freelancer’s clients.

5. What should freelancers and clients record?

Keep evidence that explains how assignments are obtained and commercial decisions are made. 

Marketing: A service profile, portfolio, referral activity or campaigns can show how the freelancer’s own services reach potential clients. 

Sales: Enquiries, proposals, negotiations and decisions to accept or refuse work help explain how assignments and commercial terms are agreed. 

Delegated acquisition: The agent agreement, authority, activity reports and fee records help show what the agent does for the freelancer’s business. 

Client relationships: Service agreements and relevant invoices establish who contracts with whom. 

These are useful examples, rather than a compulsory document list. 

A freelancer relying on recommendations should be able to explain that route. Where an agent handles acquisition, retain evidence of the agent’s work and the resulting agreements. Clients should consider that information alongside the practical organisation of the assignment.

Explanation

A dated proposal, a negotiated price or an agent’s report can explain a business decision more clearly than a general statement that someone is independent. Keep records that reflect real activity and review them when the business or assignment changes.

Sources

Disclaimer

The information provided in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or employment advice. Labor and classification regulations (such as the Dutch Wet DBA and EU directives) are highly complex, fact-specific, and subject to frequent changes and changing administrative policies. Reading this content does not create an attorney-client or advisory relationship with Zooly. Before making any decisions regarding contractor engagement, compliance frameworks, or classification policies, you should always consult a qualified local employment lawyer or tax professional. Zooly accepts no liability for any actions taken or decisions made based on the information provided on our website.

Editorial Note & AI Disclosure

In compliance with Article 50 of the EU AI Act, we disclose that artificial intelligence (AI) tools were utilized to assist in compiling, legal screening, and drafting this content. However, to ensure absolute legal precision and contextual accuracy regarding compliance topics, the final text has undergone full human editorial review and rigorous manual verification by the Zooly compliance team before publication.

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