Your IT freelancer is in your Teams channel, joins the standup and has a company laptop. Handy for collaboration, but when does that become a Dutch DBA Act problem? Embedding is exactly where a lot of IT hiring goes wrong.
In this article you will learn what embedding means within the DBA Act, why it is such a risk for IT hiring specifically, and the signals that reveal it. Then I show how to avoid it without making collaboration unworkable.
This blog is for clients: IT managers and hiring managers who let a freelancer work in or close to their team.
Embedding is factor 3 of the Deliveroo ruling, one of the nine factors the Tax Authority uses to assess your working relationship. Want the full overview? Read our guide to the 9 assessment factors of the Dutch DBA Act.
What does embedding mean under the Dutch DBA Act?
Embedding means the freelancer and their work have become part of your organisation, comparable to a permanent employee. The more integrated into your team and operations, the more it looks like employment. That is a strong indication toward disguised employment.
The Tax Authority checks whether the relationship resembles that with employed staff. Does the freelancer work to a fixed schedule, join meetings, development reviews and staff activities, and follow training at your expense? Then that points to embedding.
Note: embedding is not only about the work itself, but also about the person. It comes down to whether the freelancer functions as a colleague rather than as an external supplier of a service.
Why is embedding such a risk for IT hiring specifically?
Because IT work inherently requires collaboration. An engineer needs access to your systems, meetings and communication channels to do the job. That embeds them faster than, say, an external advisor who drops by occasionally. The risk creeps in through daily practice.
Think of a cloud engineer who runs full-time for months, sits in every team meeting and works at your office. In practice, they are barely distinguishable from your permanent staff. That is exactly the picture the Tax Authority wants to prevent.
The temptation is strong, because it works well. A freelancer who fully joins in feels like a team member. But that smooth integration is precisely what makes your working relationship vulnerable. Good collaboration and legal distance must be in balance.
Which signals point to embedding?
A number of concrete signals reveal embedding. The more of them apply to your situation, the greater the risk that the Tax Authority sees the relationship as employment.
- The freelancer works to a fixed schedule that you set
- They do the same work as your permanent staff
- They join team meetings, development reviews and staff outings
- They have a company email address and appear in your org chart
- They follow training or courses at your expense
- They are directed like an employee, not like an external party
One signal is rarely decisive. But a stack of them colours the overall picture toward employment. It is about the whole, not one isolated point.
How do you avoid embedding without harming collaboration?
The trick is to treat the freelancer as an external party, even if they work close to your team. Give them a defined assignment with its own result, not a continuous stream of tasks like an employee. Let them determine their own method and time where possible.
A few practical choices help. Do not give a company email address, but let them communicate from their own business. Do not invite them to staff outings and development reviews. Let them use their own equipment where possible. Steer on result and deadlines, not on presence.
At the same time, collaboration need not suffer. A freelancer may be in your Teams or Slack for the content of their assignment, and may consult where that is functional. The difference is in the role: they deliver a service, they are not a team member. Keep that distinction sharp.
What if embedding is unavoidable?
Sometimes an assignment is so intertwined with your team that some embedding is unavoidable. A long-running project where the engineer really has to run along, for example. Then the intermediary construction is the safe route: I place the freelancer via Maedium and take on the Dutch DBA Act risk.
With the intermediary construction, the IT professional stays an independent entrepreneur, but Maedium sits contractually in between. I do not become an employer and pay no payroll tax; I carry the risk through my model agreement and contract structure. That way you can still collaborate closely without carrying the risk yourself.
Want to know whether intermediation is enough or the intermediary construction is needed? Read our comparison of the intermediary construction and intermediation.
Frequently asked questions about embedding
May a freelancer join the daily standup?
For the content of their assignment, yes. It becomes risky if they join all team rituals by default, regardless of their assignment. Let them join where it is functional for their work, not because they "belong" like an employee.
May a hired engineer use a company laptop?
It is allowed, but it is a signal toward embedding. A genuine entrepreneur usually uses their own equipment. If there is no alternative, for example for security reasons, record that and make sure the other signals point toward independence.
May a freelancer be in our Teams or Slack channel?
Yes, for communication around their assignment that is fine and often necessary. It becomes a signal if they are in all internal channels, including ones unrelated to their assignment. Keep their access limited to what is functional.
How long may a freelancer work with us before embedding plays a role?
There is no hard limit, but the longer and more intensive, the greater the risk. An assignment lasting months and full-time weighs heavier. Duration is a separate factor, though; embedding is specifically about integration into your organisation.
Does embedding weigh heavier than the other factors?
No, there is no ranking. All nine factors are weighed together. In practice, embedding is often the trickiest factor for IT hiring, because engineers quickly become part of a team. But the overall picture is decisive.
Conclusion: treat your freelancer as an external party
Embedding is the biggest stumbling block for IT hiring, because the work demands collaboration. The core: treat the freelancer as an external supplier of a service, not as a colleague. Steer on result, limit their role to their assignment, and avoid the signals of employment.
For whom is this most urgent? For clients with long-running assignments where the engineer runs full-time. For whom less? For those outsourcing short, defined work remotely.
Cannot avoid embedding? Then the intermediary construction is the safe choice. Better well arranged than a back-tax assessment afterwards.
Unsure whether your assignment creates embedding?
Want to look together at whether a specific IT assignment risks embedding, and how to solve it? Plan a no-obligation call with me. We go through your situation, with no strings attached.
Note: regulations around the Dutch DBA Act may change. For current information, consult rijksoverheid.nl or belastingdienst.nl. This article is general information, not legal advice. For complex situations, I advise consulting an employment lawyer or tax advisor.
