The issue of false self-employment has been a topic of discussion in labor law for some time now: it refers to a person who is ostensibly working on a contract for services, but who is in fact working as an employee under an employment contract. The Deliveroo ruling by the Supreme Court has accelerated attention to this issue, which has gained momentum due to political attention and the announcement that, from 2025, the tax authorities will enforce the requirement for a contract of employment for false self-employed persons.

This topicality focuses on one aspect, namely the question of whether it is possible to avoid the consequences of ‘no contribution, no entitlement’, addressing two legal questions:

1) Are there general legal standards for applying ‘no contribution, no entitlement’?

2) Is it possible to make an exception to the rule of ‘no contribution, no entitlement’ through specific provisions in the regulations?