Can a speech therapist with one client still work as a freelancer?

The speech therapist started working for a dyslexia and speech therapy practice on 1 April 2024. The agreed fee was €18 per 30-minute treatment, including handover and administration. She registered her business in July 2024 and invoiced the client for treatments. 

The client later proposed moving the relationship into employment because of concerns about the fiscal rules governing freelance work. Negotiations did not produce agreement. In August 2025, the client announced that the collaboration would end from 1 September. 

The speech therapist claimed that she had already been working under an employment contract. Alternatively, she sought compensation because the client had not observed an appropriate notice period. 

The court found substantial freedom over both treatment and work organisation: 

• The speech therapist determined how to conduct treatments, without treatment guidelines imposed by the client. 

• The client offered patients, but she decided whether to accept them. 

• She organised appointments within the availability of the shared treatment room. 

• Cancelling or moving appointments for personal reasons did not require permission. 

• She could use her own treatment materials, although she chose to use materials available at the practice. 

The client did not conduct evaluation or performance reviews. Nor was the speech therapist required to attend company training.

Speech therapy formed part of the client’s core business. The court therefore recognised that the work was integrated into the practice’s organisation. 

It distinguished that integration from the speech therapist’s own position within the business. She was not managed through performance reviews or compulsory company training. 

The court also examined why she used the client’s electronic patient record system and email address. It considered treatment registration in the context of healthcare obligations and the practice’s arrangements with its health insurer. Those administrative circumstances did not establish authority in this relationship.

The speech therapist had no other clients during the relevant relationship, although she was allowed to accept them. The court regarded this as her choice rather than a contractual restriction on entrepreneurship. 

She invoiced through her own business. Her income depended on the work performed and the number of treatments. She received no continued payment during holidays or sickness. 

The service agreement also allowed substitution, although she had not used that possibility. 

The client argued that a WhatsApp exchange had limited the service agreement to 1 September 2025. The court found that the exchange did not establish agreement on that end date. The speech therapist had understood that employment would begin then. 

The service agreement had continued under the same conditions and contained a two-month notice period. The court held that it ended on 22 October 2025. 

It awarded €2,264.52 gross for the period beginning on 1 September, plus statutory commercial interest and procedural costs. A period of unusually high earnings from temporary maternity cover was excluded when calculating representative income. 

The claims that depended on an employment contract were rejected. 

The decision provides a practical example of freelance work within a client’s core business. Independence was visible in everyday decisions: accepting patients, arranging appointments and performing treatments. 

Clients should distinguish necessary coordination from managerial control. Freelancers should examine whether the freedom described in their agreement can actually be exercised. 

The judgment concerned a private dispute between the speech therapist and the client. It was not a tax appeal or a general ruling approving freelance healthcare arrangements.

• Check practical freedom. Who accepts patients, arranges appointments and approves changes? 

• Clients should explain why shared systems and quality requirements are necessary and examine how they operate in practice. 

• Freelancers should retain evidence of decisions made independently, including patient acceptance and scheduling. 

• Assess dependence on one client alongside the complete relationship. 

• Record contractual changes clearly. A signed amendment reduces uncertainty, although WhatsApp agreements are not automatically invalid. 

• Before ending an assignment, check its duration, notice clause and any payment obligations.