Today we start with an interesting statement from a Federal Court Judge regarding whether a worker within a company was classed as an employee or independent contractor.
“The parties cannot create something which has every feature of a rooster but call it a duck and insist that everyone else recognise it as a duck.”
What this statement suggests is that an independent contractor who looks like an employee or is treated like employee, may well be considered an employee and despite what you call the person, they may be incorrectly classified in your business.
This is why it is critical to look at what they do, how they do it and the control you have over when and where they work. Purely calling them an independent contractor does not necessarily actually define them as one.
This is something HR Central have recently assisted a company with. We sat down with them and helped position those workers under the right category of employees. This has provided them with peace of mind knowing their workers will now be classified, treated and paid correctly.