The Temper ruling: what it means for your flexible staffing and what you can do

Do you hire flexible staff through a platform like Temper? Then the Amsterdam Court of Appeal's ruling of 16 June 2026 affects you directly. The court found that people working through Temper are not self-employed, but agency workers. The good news first: you don't have to stop using flexible staff. You just need to know how to hire them from now on, and where to turn. This article lays it out.

In brief: what happened?

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal (ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2026:1612) overturned an earlier district court judgment and ruled that the agreements made through Temper qualify as temporary agency work contracts. That makes Temper a temporary work agency, and therefore an employer. The court applied the criteria from the Dutch Supreme Court's Deliveroo ruling and focused above all on how the working relationship plays out in practice.

Temper fundamentally disagrees and is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court, so this is not the final word. But the ruling does not stand alone: in the Deliveroo, Helpling and other platform cases the outcome went the same way, and since 2025 the Dutch Tax Administration has again been enforcing against false self-employment. The direction of travel is clear.

What does this mean for you as a hirer?

Legally the ruling is about Temper, but the signal is broader. If you structurally fill shifts with platform-based flex workers doing regular work under your direction, that is exactly the kind of arrangement courts and regulators are scrutinising. It can raise questions about back payments, collective-agreement entitlements and hirer's liability, and create uncertainty about your staffing if a platform has to change its model.

Important to know: not every flex worker is automatically an employee, and each situation is assessed on its own merits. But there is no need to wait for the dust to settle. A few steps will tell you whether you are on safe ground.

What to do now

1. Map out how you currently hire.
   Are you using individual self-employed contractors, platform-based flex workers, or staffing agencies? And what kind of work is involved?
2. Take a critical look at structural, regular work performed under your direction.
   That is the most vulnerable, because it most resembles employment.
3. Shift your hiring to certified staffing agencies.
   Then the flex worker has a proper agency work contract, statutory equal-pay rules apply, and they are simply an agency worker. The self-employment question does not arise.
4. Keep grip and oversight.
   Know which agencies you work with, at what rates and on what terms, so you stay in control of cost and quality.
5. Unsure about a specific situation?
   Have it assessed by an employment lawyer.

Where to turn

The short answer: certified staffing agencies. The practical answer: a platform that connects you to them in one go, like Felix.

Where a platform like Temper has you hire freelancers directly, Felix connects you, in a single system, to more than 120 NEN-certified staffing agencies. You post a shift, affiliated agencies respond, and you choose who you work with. You fill one-off and last-minute shifts just as fast as before, but with genuine agency workers, a single combined invoice and full control over your hiring.

In practice that means no loose self-employment constructions to worry about, no tangle of separate invoices, and always insight into who is working for you. So you keep the convenience and speed of a platform, plus the certainty of compliant employment.

Get started

The Temper ruling may not be final yet, but the direction already is. For hirers, now is the moment to make your flexible staffing future-proof. Work through certified staffing agencies and you are on the right side of that development.

Want to know how to hire flex workers compliantly and without the self-employment risk? Request a demo to see how Felix works, or get in touch to discuss your situation.

This article is general information and not legal advice. Every situation is different; have your own hiring practices reviewed by an employment lawyer or adviser. Source: Amsterdam Court of Appeal, 16 June 2026, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2026:1612.