Including the Self-Employed: Labour neutrality and specificity in a comparative study between the Dutch and Spanish social security systems

Social security is a human right, which should mean that everyone at risk of losing their income is protected. Yet, many systems still exclude the self-employed. This article explores how the concepts of labour neutrality and labour specificity can give access to the self-employed in two contingencies (invalidity and unemployment). First, we explore labour neutrality and specificity from a theoretical perspective. Then, we compare the Dutch and Spanish systems to assess if and how these cover self-employed individuals. Lastly, we conclude with concrete proposals on how labour specificity can contain risks in a neutrally-designed system.