False self-employment exists when an activity is formally agreed as self-employed but in practice has all the features of dependent employment: fixed working hours, embedding in the organisation, reliance on instructions, no entrepreneurial risk, almost a single client. It is problematic both under labour law and social-insurance law.
If false self-employment is established, clients face substantial back-payments of social-insurance contributions and in serious cases criminal consequences. Contractors lose their self-employed status and are treated retroactively like employees – with all rights but also duties. Whether false self-employment exists is clarified in case of doubt by the German pension insurance in a status assessment.
Warning signs are a single client, long contract durations, personal performance without sub-contractors, classic office hours, no independent marketing. Anyone using freelance arrangements should be able to demonstrate multiple clients, own tools and clearly defined deliverables.
Lunigi positions itself in the regular labour market and avoids role models that suggest false self-employment.