- A big brothel in Prague
The taxman has told your boss that you are not self-employed. What does this mean?
You have been told that you are not self employed but that you are employed by a boss. What does this mean? In this paper you’ll find some information about your new situation. This leaflet won’t answer all your questions, so you phone us to learn some more: 020-6243366. Your questions will be used to write updated newsletters.
1. Working under a boss means that he/she pays you in money.
2. The bookkeeper has to give you weekly or monthly a slip of paper stating the amount of money you made.
3. This slip of paper should state the amounts of money you make BEFORE and AFTER tax. The amount of money after tax states the sum total you receive. This is lower than the amount of money before tax because the employer has already paid your social security.
4. Since you are not self employed you don’t have to pay the VAT (in Dutch BTW) any more. You can stop worrying about the regular checks of the taxman.
5. Your boss can not ask you to contribute to his VAT (BTW) VAT is from now on his/her problem.
6. You don’t need a bookkeeper any more. You only have to collect and guard these slips of paper. You need them to fill in your yearly taxform.
7. When you are ill, the management of the club/private house, has to pay you the number of hours he/she hired you..
8. You have to give the boss a copy of your passport. Though you were self employed in practice you already had to do that. The difference with the old situation is that the taxman now knows exactly for which company you are working. Neither this should be new for you, as the name of the company should be written on the receipts you are supposed have received for renting a room of facilities. Instead of identifying as as sexworker, you can keep on calling yourself a person who lends personal services. The tax office is not allowed to state the precise nature of your activities to a third party.
9. The majority of the managers will offer you a zero hours contract or another flexible hours contract. He can never call you in for just one hour. He has to pay you at least for three hours, even when he only needs you for one hour.
10. He has to pay at least 7,30 euro before tax (6,03 after tax) an hour.
11. Whatever he pays you, a little or a lot, he may never force you to take on a client, or to perform sexual services you don’t want, or to force you to stay longer with a client than you please. Besides, when you apply to a job, he may never put you to the trial.
12. You have to realize that this 6,03 euros an hour is a minimum. No one can expect more for this amount than just your presence. No one can expect you to have sex with clients for this salary. It is just the basic payment. When you are employed it is normal that you make or get a job description. That also prevents that you you for example have to clean the toilets while you are waiting for clients. Put down in writing what you do and what you don’t do apart from being present.
13. The boss may never just order you about with the excuse: I pay you and you have do whatever I tell you to do.
He can’t have you working on a zero hours contract forever. Due to the socalled ‘flexwet’ you have to get a permanent contract when you work every week for at least three months or when you work at least twenty hours a week for three months for the same club.After three months, you get paid at least the average hours a month you have been working as a hostess or had to be present. The advantage of a permanent contract is that you can’t be fired any more without a good reason.
An example
You have worked for three months. The first month you have worked for thirty hours, the second 21, and the third 24. In three months you have worked in sum total 75 hours. That is on an average 25 hours a month. So the fourth month you will get paid for 25 hours, regardless if for example only one client show up during this fourth month. |
14. Many brotheloperators will tell you they are going to close their businesses when they have to pay social insurance for you as an employee. When this happens to you, you are forcedly out of a job, even if there is no written contract. Try to find out if you can apply for an unemployment benefit.
15. Some brothelowners will want to start a courtcase to repeal the decision of the taxman that you are not self employed. Quite a few will tell you that they do this in your interest and that you might as well contribute financially. Don’t do this. It is very unlikely the brotheloperator will win his case. At the worse, if he looses, you may be accused of being an accomplish to fraud.
16. Never agree to get board and lodging or plastic surgery as payment. Payment should be offered in money and not in goods or services. Neither accept a favourable schedule to cash in tips as payment.
17. If you have complaints about hygienic or health conditions, you can call the labour inspectorate.
18. You don’t need disability insurance anymore.
19. The FNV (the biggest trade union in the Netherlands) is realizing model contracts. As soon as they are available they will be published on our site. Before that, sign nothing without checking out with us or with a lawyer. Compare your contract with the ones on our website.
2001
