Germany plans a new social-security category called “New Self-Employment,” letting contractors qualify by meeting at least 2 of 4 statutory tests instead of today’s overall case-by-case assessment.
The 4 tests focus on entrepreneurial features: bearing loss risk and profit opportunity, not relying mainly on one client, incurring typical business expenses, and actively marketing services.
Clients would have to register qualifying engagements and pay pension contributions for those workers, while parties must file a joint declaration and observe a 6-month waiting period after prior employment.
The draft leaves existing status-classification rules in place alongside the new option and does not change employment-law determinations, so some legal uncertainty could persist despite the reform.
Will Germany's proposed self-employment law truly protect companies from massive retroactive fines, or just force independent contractors into mandatory pension schemes?
How will Germany's new freelance category impact cross-border workers navigating the US-Germany Totalization Agreement and potential double taxation risks?