Germany's proposed reform creates a 'new self-employment' status with strict criteria, as enforcement agencies ramp up inspections and use AI to detect illegal work.
Authorities in Spain slapped delivery service Glovo with nearly 79?million in penalties after classifying its couriers as employees rather than self?employed contractors—a warning that resonates loudly in Berlin, where the German government is drafting a reform to give freelance arrangements clearer legal footing.
The proposed law, contained in a draft from the Federal Ministry of Labour, would create a so?called “new self?employment” status. Both parties would have to agree in writing that the assignment is genuinely freelance, and the contractor must prove entrepreneurial behavior—for example by securing a contractual right to send a substitute. On top of that, at least two out of four additional criteria must be met, and the contractor cannot have worked for the same client in the six months before starting the assignment. Those who take up the “new self?employment” will be required to join the statutory pension insurance scheme. Entire sectors listed in the law against undeclared work are excluded from the simplification.
While the reform aims to reduce legal uncertainty, enforcement agencies are already turning up the heat. At the 26th Federal Conference on Combating Undeclared Work, held on 10 and 11 June 2026 in Stuttgart, officials stressed closer cooperation between authorities....
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