Self-employed people are increasingly finding their way to benefits

The analysis is based on figures from the Social Insurance for the Self-Employed (RSVZ). It shows that in 2023, 16,500 benefits were granted to self-employed people. The most popular measure was maternity leave, with 9,484 benefits. That is more than double compared to five years ago, when it came into effect.

Acerta supplemented the figures with a survey of 540 self-employed people. This shows that many self-employed people do not always know clearly which benefits exist or how they can apply for them. For example, six in ten self-employed people surveyed say that they do not know the benefits for bereavement leave and informal care, and more than half do not know that they are entitled to maternity leave with benefits.

And those who do know about the benefit do not apply for it yet. Six in ten do not, says Acerta. They fear losing customers and income, think it will be bad for their professional reputation if they postpone projects, or believe they cannot be replaced.

Service vouchers

According to Acerta, one benefit is usually awarded, namely the 105 service vouchers after childbirth. This is because the procedure is initiated automatically and the self-employed person only has to confirm.

“We expected that self-employed people would be better informed about leave and/or benefits that are also common among employees, such as maternity leave,” responds Mieke Bruyninckx, domain responsible for starters and self-employed people at Acerta. “Self-employed people often put themselves last, because the customer is king. For example, not every independent young mother is willing to stop activities for at least three weeks. But their mental well-being sometimes suffers.”