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ARTICLE · 30 SEPTEMBER 2013

Self-Employed Worker Or Salaried Employee? Getting It Wrong Can Be Costly

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This Québec Court of Appeal decision confirms that improperly identifying the contractual relationship can have a considerable financial impact on employers.

CanadaEmployment and HR
Myriam Robichaud
Myriam Robichaud
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The HR Space is edited by Louise Béchamp, Karen M. Sargeant and Brian P. Smeenk

You're about to hire an employee. But he has his own business and wants to be an independent contractor. That way, he'll pay less tax. And it's easy for you too - you will just have to pay his invoices and won't have to include him in your employee head-count.  But wait. There can be significant consequences from incorrectly characterizing an employee as an independent contractor. Not only can the individual, at the end of the relationship, claim he was really an employee and entitled to significant severance benefits, the tax authorities can also come knocking, as was the case recently in Quebec (PDF - available in French only).

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