How to stop working as a self-employed person and start working again as an employee

We are not necessarily self-employed for life. There can be many situations in which a self-employed person decides to stop working and start working again as an employee. The reasons for this can be very diverse: self-employment does not really suit you after all, there is too much work and/or it pays too little, things are not going as expected or, on the contrary, one of your clients appreciates your work so much that he or she wants to hire you on attractive terms. What steps should you take in that case?

A complete cessation

The first question you should ask yourself is: will you stop your activity entirely as a self-employed person, or do you intend to continue being self-employed as a supplementary profession? The second option may be safer, but if you want to give it your all in your new job, it could be difficult. Let us assume that you are stopping completely. This means that, from now on – more precisely from the quarter following the quarter in which you cease your activities – you no longer have the status of a self-employed person. To be in good standing, you must therefore have a new status. If you start working again as an employee, it is not complicated: thanks to your new job as an employee (employee, worker or civil servant), you are fully covered by NSSO contributions.

Note that even if you are receiving a replacement income (pension, unemployment benefit, etc.), you are fully covered by social security – as long as you receive the benefit. If you register for health insurance as someone else's dependant, you are also in good standing for health insurance. In this case, however, you do not build up pension rights.

The necessary administrative procedures

When you cease to be self-employed, you must take the necessary steps to formalise this situation. As you no longer have any activity as a self-employed person, you must request your removal from the Crossroads Bank for Enterprises. This is done through your social secretariat, which is often also your social security fund. Once the social secretariat is notified, it will assist you with the necessary steps. As you no longer have any activities subject to VAT, you must of course also notify the VAT control office in your region of the cessation of your activities. Remember to submit your last VAT return and pay the amount due. And since you are no longer self-employed, you can unsubscribe from your social security fund. However, you must pay your social security contributions for the last quarter of your activity. You must not fail to notify your mutual benefit society of your change of status. Please see these articles for more details concerning the termination of a self-employed activity.