Employers could easily post for a job in a gig market platform, set the pay rates and other parameters and then say, “We’re not willing to pay anything less than this perfectly good Canadian wage,” he said.
While progressive organizations may begin to bring on some of these workers, they should be wary of the legal issues when employing them.
When it comes to the law around independent contractors, it’s been demonstrated time and time again that it doesn’t matter too much what is said in the contract or what terminology is used by the employer and the worker. It’s the reality of the relationship that determines whether the relationship is that of an independent contractor or more like an employment relationship.
You can call a contractor a contractor all you want, but if they’re being treated like an employee, that’s what a court will find.
In determining the nature of the employment relationship, courts will look at how much control the company has over the worker – where the worker works, how much they must do, whether the worker has time to work for others, if the company supplies the tools and equipment needed, and how much the worker relies on the company financially. If there is a lot of control in these areas, the worker is more likely in an employment relationship with the company.
