Engaging Contractors

Engaging Contractors

If a decision has been made to engage a person as a contractor there is a multilevel test laid down by the courts to determine whether the person is an employee or contractor. While calling people consultants/contractors, paying them by invoice and ensuring that they only provide services through an incorporated entity are strong indicators that a person is in fact NOT an employee, other indicators that a person is a contractor include:

• Company not having day-to-day control of a person
• The period of service is limited
• The consultant company have a number of employees and are free to hire whom they wish to perform the work
• The person is using their own equipment
• The consultant company engaged to produce a certain result.

The consultant company, who supplies contractors to provide services to Company, is responsible for payment of its own insurances and taxes including (but not limited to):

• Workers compensation insurance
• Professional indemnity insurance
• Public liability insurance
• Payroll tax
• Fringe Benefits Tax
• Group Tax

Company is not responsible for any of these insurance and taxation payments nor is it (our company) responsible for the payment of superannuation or any legal entitlements to these contractors including sick, annual and long service leave. A contractor engaged by Company is not entitled to any bonus/commission/ incentive or share option plans in whatever format they may exist from time to time.

Any contractor providing services to Company will, however, be required to sign a confidentiality agreement before commencing with us.

Within Company, a contractor is classified and engaged in one of two ways:

1. As a consultant

2. As a contractor

A "Consultant" is a specialist who gives expert professional advice. Their work is of strategic importance and advisory in nature and their services are not subject to the day-to-day management control from Company. All consultants must be incorporated with an Australian Business Number (ABN) and hold the appropriate insurances and pay the taxes and entitlements to its employees as above.

A "Contractor" is a person or company that contracts to supply services. Regardless of the types of services they are performing, they are generally subject to Company's day-to-day management control. Typically, they provides services on our premises and utilise our equipment. Contractors should be engaged through one of our preferred recruitment agencies. Should a manager wish to engage a contractor from another recruitment agency the procedure as outlined in the Use of Recruitment Agencies section needs to be followed. The payment of superannuation, sick, annual and long service service remains the responsibility of the recruitment agency.

The engaging of any contractors requires the approval of the General Manager and is the responsibility of Human Resources. All contractors are required to sign a Service Level Agreement (SLA) to confirm the terms and conditions of this type of engagement. They are also required to complete our Induction Program (those areas of relevance).