On 27 January 2026, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ruled that Uber drivers are not automatically employees, but can be genuine independent entrepreneurs. For many small business owners, this may sound like distant legal news. In practice, it goes straight to the heart of everyday business: invoices you rely on, contracts you assume are solid, and the hidden risks that only surface when a relationship is reviewed years later.
The court overturned an earlier 2021 decision that had classified Uber drivers as employees covered by the taxi sector collective labour agreement. This time, the judges looked closely at how the work actually functions. The drivers involved invested in their own cars, chose when to work, decided which rides to accept, worked with multiple platforms, and carried the financial risks of damage, illness, or downtime themselves. Taken together, those elements painted the picture of entrepreneurship, not employment.
What matters here is not Uber as a company, but the reasoning behind the judgment. The court confirmed, following guidance from the Dutch Supreme Court, that entrepreneurship is not a secondary factor. It weighs just as heavily as control, integration, and pay. In plain terms: calling someone “independent” does not make them so. Their day-to-day economic reality does.
For micro and small businesses, this is familiar territory. You work with freelancers because flexibility matters. But if someone works almost exclusively for you, follows your schedule, uses your tools, and bears little real risk, the balance quietly shifts. That shift rarely shows up in monthly cash flow. It shows up later, through wage claims, social security corrections, or tax reassessments that rewrite past years.
Just as important is what the court did not do. It did not declare that all Uber drivers are entrepreneurs in every situation. The judges explicitly left room for individual cases where a driver could still qualify as an employee. That nuance matters. There are no shortcuts and no blanket answers. Every working relationship stands on its own facts.
The practical takeaway is calm, not celebratory. Look at your collaborations the way you look at your own business model. Who invests? Who decides? Who absorbs the loss when work dries up or something breaks? Small, deliberate choices, real freedom in execution, non-exclusive arrangements, pricing that reflects risk, often make the difference. Not to dodge rules, but to ensure that what is written on paper still matches the reality you are building every day.
