Dynamic Lawyers
Need an Ontario Lawyer?
Make a Post. Get FREE Quotes!
 
Call: (647) 680-9530
 
Home
Home
Sign in
Sign in
Make a Post
Make a Post
DL Blog
DL Blog
About Us
About Us
About Us
FREE Checkup
Terms of Use
Terms of Use
Help
Help
Privacy Policy
Privacy Policy
Disclaimer
Disclaimer
Contact Us
Contact Us
  • Home
  • About Michael Carabash
  • Disclaimer
Lawyers Aid Canada – Great Service Independent Contractor/Consulting Agreements – Part 2 (Template)
Jun 07

Independent Contractor/Consulting Agreements – Part 1 (Basics)

Business Law Add comments

Michael CarabashPlease keep in mind that this is not legal advice.  The information provided herein is for educational purposes only. If you would like to get in touch with a lawyer to help you draft, interpret, negotiate or resolve a dispute about independent contractor/consulting agreements, then you are encouraged to seek a professional (e.g. make a post on Dynamic Lawyers).

Independent Contractor/Consulting Agreements are used by Ontario clients where they do not want to create an employment relationship with the independent contractor.  There are various reasons for this, such as:

  • The independent contractor/consultant ["IC"] has his or her own business.
  • The IC charges his or her own GST and remits it to the government.
  • The IC pays its own taxes and can deduct business expenses from his or her taxable income.
  • The IC owns his or her own tools and equipment.
  • The IC is not economically dependent on one particular client.
  • The IC has the ability to make more money by having more clients/customers.
  • The IC risks losing money by not being guaranteed a salary or wages.
  • The IC has control over obtaining, doing, and delivering the work.
  • The IC’s relationship with the party contracting for his or her services can be terminated according to the service agreement.

For the client, this means that they do not have to withhold and remit income tax source deductions or pay employment insurance or Canada Pension Plan premiums on behalf of the IC.  These things will, no doubt be reflected in the independent contractor/consulting agreement (as will liability in case the opposite holds true).

If the IC is in actuality an employee in Ontario, then the following rules apply:

  • The employer is required to withhold and remit income tax payable by the employee.
  • The employer is required to withhold and remit employment insurance on the employee’s insurable earnings.
  • The employer is reuqired to withhold and remit the employee’s Canada Pension Plan contribution in respect of his or her pensionable employment earnings.
  • The employer is required to abide by the termination (notice or pay in lieu of notice) and severance provisions in the Ontario Employment Standards Act.
  • The employee will only be able to make certain limited deductions against their taxable income (e.g. travel, home office, etc.).

There are many, many more obligations imposed on the employer in various legal contexts which will be discussed in other blogs.

Given these things, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that the client and the IC structure the realities of their relationship to be that of client and IC and NOT employer and employee (assuming that is the intention).  That’s right: I wrote “structure”.  Simply making the contract look more like an independent contractor/consulting agreement instead of an employment agreement won’t do it.  If there is ever a dispute about the nature of the relationship, then tribunals, courts, and other triers of fact will look at the realities of the relationship – not just what’s written on paper.

In case you’re a Client and looking to engage the services of an Independent Contractor in Ontario, look no further:

Independent Contractor Agreement (Client) – No Statement of Work

This Agreement can be used by a Client who wants to engage the services of an Independent Contractor (e.g. a consultant, a professional, a general worker, etc.) without creating an employment relationship. The “Client” means that this Independent Contractor Agreement favours the Client – for example, through notice, termination, standards of care, and restrictive covenants, etc. The “No Statement of Work” means that the services to be performed by the Independent Contractor are dealt with in the actual agreement and not in a Schedule (attached and incorporated into the agreement as a “Statement of Work”). There will be different versions of this agreement which favour both the Client and the Independent Contractor and which may include Schedules. Schedules aren’t absolutely necessary. They’re just one way of having an agreement instead of writing things out in the actual agreement, you simply modify the Schedule. Here’s the sample Video Guide that comes with this Independent Contractor Agreement (Client) – No Statement of Work:

Now, if you happen to be looking for an Independent Contractor | Consulting Agreement with a Statement of Work, then you’re in luck. Just go here and scroll down and, voila! The “Statement of Work” means that there is a schedule in this particular Independent Contractor Agreement to describe the services (instead of writing everything out in the actual agreement, it’s included in a Schedule). Here’s the sample Video Guide that comes with this Independent Contractor Agreement (Client) – With Statement of Work:

All of Dynamic Lawyers‘ legal forms are lawyer-prepared, simple to read, easy to customize, and only a fraction of the price a lawyer would charge. Also, each legal form comes with a FREE VIDEO GUIDE (watch a useful example of how this legal form can be customized), a FREE DL GUIDE (read helpful information about this legal form), and another FREE DL GUIDE that sheds valuable insight into how legal forms can be challenged. What are you waiting for? Best of all, if you DO need a lawyer and need some legal advice, simply make a post and get FREE quotes from Ontario lawyers focusing on the area of law you require!

Note: this information and these sample video guides are NOT legal advice and are provided for informational purposes only. If you need an Ontario lawyer, go to Dynamic Lawyers and make a post.

  • Share/Bookmark

Related posts:

  1. Who owns an artistic work in the context of a business deal?
  2. Drafting, reviewing, and negotiating Confidentiality Agreements

written by admin \\ tags: business expenses, canada pension plan premiums, consulting agreement, employment insurance, employment relationship, income tax, independent consulting agreement, independent contractor, independent contractor agreement template, insurable earnings, ontario employee vs. independent contractor, own tools, source deductions, taxable income

i3Theme 1.7 is designed by N.Design Studio, customized by MangoOrange™,
sponsored by Web Hosting Reviews, Hosting in Colombia and Web Hosting.

Search

Latest Public Posts:

  • Property Tax in Previ...
  • Testamentary trust...
  • Land Lord denying me ...
  • Childs Rights...
  • Corporation moving to...
  • Enforcment of summary...
  • Common Law Question...
  • My Partner's spouse h...
  • Common law...
  • slip and fell...

Need a Lawyer?

    Toronto Business Lawyer

    Toronto Wills and Estates Lawyer

FREE Legal Stuff:

    Free Legal Health Checkup

    Free Legal Guides

As Featured In...

    Dynamic Lawyers in the News

Report: Toronto Lawyer Fees

    End of the Billable Hour?
    See all Stats and Reports...

eBook: Online Legal Marketing

    4 Steps to Online Legal Marketing
    See all Stats and Reports...

Boost Your Web Traffic!

    20 Free tips to boost traffic to your legal website
    See all Stats and Reports...

Business Organizations

    Business Organizations in Ontario (eBook)
    See all Stats and Reports...

Wills and Estates (eBook)

    Wills and Estates (eBook) in Ontario
    See all Stats and Reports...

Buying / Selling Real Estate

    Buying and Selling Residential Real Estate in Ontario
    See all Stats and Reports...

Limited Partnerships

    Limited Partnerships (Ontario)
    See all Stats and Reports...

Legal Forms + Video Guides

Legal Forms + Video Guides

Lawyer Prepared + Affordable!

Revocation of Will: $17
Revocation of POA: $17
Affidavits of Execution: $17
Living Will: $27
Codicil: $27
Non-Compete: $27
Non-Solicit: $27
Power of Attorney: $37
Residential Sublease: $37
Residential Lease: $47
Employment Agm't: $47
Employee Termination: $47
Confidentiality Agm't: $47
Settlement Agm't: $47
Auto-Accident Release: $47
Plaintiff's Claim: $47
Last Will: $97
Cohabitation Agm't: $97
Ind't Contractor Agm't: $97

How to Purchase:

Get the Flash Player to see this content.
Get the Flash Player to see this content.

DL in Social Media

Follow Michael Carabash on Twitter Become a Fan of Dynamic Lawyers on Facebook See Michael Carabash's LinkedIn Profile

Categories

  • Access to Justice (91)
  • Bankruptcy/Insolvency (5)
  • Business Law (117)
  • Canada Income Tax (13)
  • Charity/Not-For-Profit (8)
  • Civil Litigation (20)
  • Criminal Law (44)
  • Employment (26)
  • Family Law (52)
  • History of DL (159)
  • Immigration (1)
  • Intellectual Property (4)
  • Landlord | Tenant (13)
  • Lawyers & Technology (68)
  • Marketing & Promotion (65)
  • Negotiations (3)
  • Personal Injury (15)
  • Real Estate (37)
  • Sole Practitioner (14)
  • Wills and Estates (63)

Terms of Use

The content on the DL Blog is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal advice. Readers should not rely upon or act on information in this blog without seeking legal advice (e.g. by making a post on Dynamic Lawyers) as to any matters of specific concern to them. Dynamic Lawyers Ltd. is not responsible for and does not necessarily agree with the contents of comments posted by readers of the DL Blog. Such comments represent the personal views of the commentators only and are included on this blog in the interest of promoting public discourse and a free exchange of ideas. Dynamic Lawyers Ltd. reserves the right to delete any comment posted on this site which we, in our sole and absolute discretion, deem inappropriate for publication on this site.

FREE Legal Resources!

FREE Legal Guides

Legal Line

Advice Scene

Duhaime

Canada Legal

Canlii

Continuing Legal Education Ontario

Legal Tree

IsThatLegal

Finalist: Legal Culture Award

Finalist for Legal Culture Award

Meta

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)
  • WordPress
  • Log in

© 2008-2010 Dynamic Lawyers Ltd.  All Rights Reserved.

Family Law | Personal Injury Law | Criminal Law | Real Estate Law
Labour and Employment Law | Business Law | Tax Law
Wills and Estates Law | Landlord and Tenant Law
Highway Traffic Ticket Law | Immigration Law
Intellectual Property Law | Insurance Law