Your Contract Says Contractor Not Employee
Your agreement calls you a contractor but every day at work says otherwise.
You signed a document calling you an independent contractor or consultant, yet you sit at a company desk, follow a fixed schedule, and answer to a manager like everyone else.
A written label does not always match legal reality. When a dismissal happens, whether you were actually an employee becomes the first question in any gig worker classification dispute.
What actually decides whether I am an employee?
Courts look beyond the contract’s wording to factors such as control over your work, integration into the business, and whether you could genuinely refuse assignments or send someone else instead.
A worker paid regularly, given a fixed workspace, required to follow company policies, and unable to work for competitors typically looks like an employee in substance.
Why would a company prefer calling me a contractor?
Labelling someone a contractor can reduce statutory obligations and avoid protections such as unfair dismissal rights, even where the actual working relationship says otherwise.
That preference does not make the label accurate. What matters legally is the substance of how you actually worked, not the title on the page.
What evidence supports a finding of real employment?
Gather your fixed schedule, any company email address or equipment issued to you, and instructions about how, not just what, your work should be done.
Keep records of your exclusivity, meaning whether you were permitted to take on other clients or were effectively working for this company alone.
How does the sixty day deadline apply if I am dismissed?
If a claim finds you were genuinely an employee, you still have sixty days from the dismissal to file a Section 20 representation with the Director General of Industrial Relations1.
Your employer carries the burden of showing the contractor arrangement was genuine, not simply pointing to the label used in your agreement2.
What should you do this week?
Write out a typical working week, including your hours, your reporting line, and how much control you had over how and when you worked.
If you were also paid purely by commission, read about being paid commission only but treated like an employee, and use the deadline calculator to check your window.
Describing a typical working week helps a lawyer judge quickly whether the contractor label matches how things really worked.
Common questions
Does signing a contractor agreement waive my employee rights permanently?
No, if the real working relationship shows the features of employment, a court can look past the label even after you signed the agreement. Signing alone does not permanently waive rights that legally exist.
What if I have my own business registration as a contractor?
Having a registered business is one factor considered, but it does not automatically settle the question if the actual working arrangement still shows strong signs of employer control.
How long do I need to have worked this way before it matters?
There is no fixed minimum period, though a longer, consistent pattern of working like an employee generally makes the case for reclassification stronger and easier to demonstrate.
Should I raise this classification question before or after a dismissal happens?
Raising it earlier, even informally in writing, can help build a record, but the question can also be raised for the first time after a dismissal when you bring a claim.
Sources
- An employee who believes they were dismissed without just cause may file a Section 20 representation within sixty days of the dismissal. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
- In an unfair dismissal case the burden of proof rests on the employer to show just cause or excuse for what happened. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates
Keep reading
Describing a typical working week helps a lawyer judge quickly whether the contractor label matches how things really worked.