Hiring AI contractors in the EU, without the misclassification risk.
Every European market has decided that some contractors are really employees, and every market enforces that view under its own name. The Netherlands audits schijnzelfstandigheid, Germany tests for Scheinselbständigkeit, Spain chases falsos autónomos, Czechia bans the švarcsystém. The tests differ in detail and agree in substance: if you direct the work, the person works only for you, and they carry no real business risk, the label on the contract will not save you. This guide covers what that means per market, the three delivery models that exist, and how we run compliant delivery in 27 markets from Amsterdam.
Why this became every market's problem at once
Two forces converged. National treasuries want the payroll taxes and social contributions that disappear when employees become contractors, and EU-level work on platform labour pushed member states to sharpen their tests. The result since 2025 is an enforcement wave: audits that look through contracts at the working reality, retroactive corrections, and in several markets personal exposure for directors. Tech hiring sits squarely in the risk zone, because senior AI and data specialists tend to work embedded in one team, on one client's stack, under one client's direction. That is exactly the pattern the tests target.
The same risk, twenty different names
Netherlands · schijnzelfstandigheid
The Wet DBA framework is actively enforced again since 2025, with retroactive payroll tax corrections possible. Default negligence fines are paused for 2026, and successor legislation on low-rate presumptions is on the way. Long engagements with a single client, work identical to employees, and client-side direction are the classic red flags.
Germany · Scheinselbständigkeit
The Deutsche Rentenversicherung runs status determination procedures, and supplying labour requires an AÜG licence. Misclassification means back payment of social contributions. Delivery through a licensed local partner keeps both risks off your books. Full buyer notes in our Germany guide.
France · requalification, faux indépendants
French labour courts requalify contractor relationships into employment when subordination exists in practice. Portage salarial and employer of record structures are the established compliant routes for external specialists.
Spain, Portugal and Italy · falsos autónomos, recibos verdes, false partite IVA
Southern Europe names the same problem three ways: Spanish labour inspection pursues falsos autónomos, Portugal watches falsos recibos verdes, Italy tests false partite IVA. In each case the substance of the relationship beats the label on the contract. See also our Portugal and Italy pages.
The Nordics · substance over form
Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland apply overall assessments of who bears economic risk and who directs the work. Iceland calls disguised contracting gerviverktaka. Consultancy delivery through an employing party is the standard clean model, and enterprise buying increasingly runs through MSP programmes; see our Sweden guide. Market pages: Sverige, Norge, Danmark, Suomi, Ísland.
Central Europe · švarcsystém, B2B tests
Poland tests the reality behind B2B contracts, Czechia and Slovakia police the švarcsystém, Hungary tightened after the KATA reform, and Romania can reclassify PFA income as dependent activity. Market pages: Polska, Česko, Slovensko, Magyarország, România.
The Baltics and Southeast Europe · reclassification tests
Estonia watches company-form contracting around single-client OÜs, Latvia and Lithuania apply reclassification tests, and Croatia, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Serbia police hidden employment. Market pages: Eesti, Latvija, Lietuva, Hrvatska, Slovenija, България, Srbija.
Three ways to bring in the same specialist
1. Direct freelance
Fastest to start and cleanest on paper, but you carry the classification risk yourself. Defensible for genuinely independent, multi-client specialists on scoped deliverables. Fragile for long, embedded, directed engagements, which is what most senior AI work looks like.
2. Secondment
The specialist is employed, and the employer seconds them to you. You direct the work, the employment relationship and its obligations sit with the employing party. This is the clean answer to embedded, directed engagements, and the model we run natively in our home market.
3. Employer of record
The same logic, extended across borders. A licensed local partner employs the specialist in their country, compliant with local labour law, payroll and contributions, while you direct the work and hold one commercial contract. This is how one hiring process can cover any EU market without you opening entities.
How we run it from Amsterdam
You brief one firm and sign one contract. We source from a pool of 27,000+ AI, data and engineering specialists, run the search in English, and deliver through the model that fits: permanent placement, secondment, or employment via licensed local partners in the specialist's market. Relocation, visa sponsorship and onboarding are part of the service where needed. The result is the flexibility of contracting with the compliance profile of employment, in every market we serve.
Role-level detail lives on our hire pages, from AI engineers and ML engineers to forward deployed engineers and heads of AI.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hire a specialist in Germany or France without a local entity?
Yes. Through the employer of record model, a licensed local partner becomes the legal employer in that country while you direct the work. You get one contract with Noordt & Co., the partner carries payroll, social contributions and local labour law.
Is the Dutch DBA regime still enforced in 2026?
Yes. The Belastingdienst resumed active enforcement on false self-employment in 2025 and can correct payroll taxes retroactively. In 2026 default negligence fines are paused, but the direction of travel is stricter, and successor legislation is in preparation. Structure new engagements as if full enforcement applies.
What does it cost to hire through Noordt & Co.?
Permanent search runs on an exclusive or retained fee agreed per role. Secondment and freelance run on an all-in rate that includes employment costs and compliance. RPO runs as a monthly engagement. Send the brief and you get a written proposal with concrete numbers within 48 hours, with no commitment.
Who is the legal employer under secondment or EOR?
Under secondment in our home market, we are. In other EU markets, a licensed local partner is the legal employer and we manage sourcing, the engagement and the relationship end to end. In both cases you direct the specialist's day-to-day work.
Scoping an external AI or data specialist anywhere in the EU? Send the brief and get the compliant delivery route plus a market read within 48 hours, no commitment.
Send the briefThis guide describes market practice at a general level and is not legal advice. Rules change; engagement structures are confirmed per case.