Businesses often label workers as contractors to save cost and paperwork. The law looks past the label, and the bill for getting it wrong can be large.
Writing contractor in an agreement does not settle the question. Courts and tax authorities look at the real relationship, how much control the business has, who owns the tools, the chance of profit and risk of loss, and how integrated the worker is into the business.
A worker treated as a contractor but found to be an employee can be owed vacation pay, notice or pay in lieu on termination, and the business can face unremitted source deductions, taxes and penalties. There is also a middle category, the dependent contractor, with its own notice rights.
A well-drafted agreement that matches how the relationship actually works, for both employees and genuine contractors, is cheap insurance against a costly claim.
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Book a Consultation企业常把工作者标注为“承包人”以省成本、省手续。但法律看穿标签，而弄错的账单，可能很大。
在协议里写“承包人”并不能定性。法院与税务机关看的是真实关系：企业的控制程度、工具归谁、盈利机会与亏损风险、以及工作者融入企业的程度。
一个被当作承包人、却被认定为员工的工作者，可能有权获得假期工资、解雇通知或代通知金，企业还可能面临未上缴的代扣款、税款与罚款。此外还有一个中间类别“受依赖承包人(dependent contractor)”，有其自身的通知权。
一份与真实关系相符、起草得当的协议，无论对员工还是真正的承包人，都是防范高昂索赔的廉价保险。