What Being An Independent Contractor Means
You were called a contractor but your work felt like an ordinary job.
Independent contractor is a label that carries real legal weight, since it can determine whether dismissal protections apply to you at all.
What It Means
An independent contractor runs their own work arrangement, typically setting their own hours, using their own equipment, and often working for multiple clients rather than one employer.
Someone in this position generally sits outside the protections this site covers, since those protections are built around an employment relationship, not a contracting one.
Why It Matters To You
The label your contract uses is not the final word. What actually matters is the substance of how you worked, including how much control the business had over you day to day.
A worker called a contractor, but who worked fixed hours, used the company’s equipment, answered to a supervisor, and worked for one business alone, may still be an employee in substance.
Does This Label Actually Fit Your Job
Compare your day-to-day reality against the contractor label: who set your schedule, who supplied your tools, and whether you were free to also work for others.
If your situation looks closer to employment despite the paperwork, read about employee status and gig worker classification for how that question is examined.
If you believe you were really an employee and were dismissed unfairly, check your window on the deadline calculator.
Telling us how your work actually operated day to day helps us see whether the contractor label really fits your situation.
Common questions
If my contract says I am a contractor, does that settle the question?
Not on its own. The actual way you worked, including how much control your employer had over your hours and tasks, matters more than the label written into the paperwork.
What kind of factors are usually looked at?
Common factors include who controlled your schedule, whether you used your own equipment, whether you worked for other clients, and how integrated you were into the business day to day.
Keep reading
Telling us how your work actually operated day to day helps us see whether the contractor label really fits your situation.