Teddington Blog

Gig economy flexing the definitions of an independent contractor vs an employee

The gig economy has opened new ways of getting work down for your business at lower costs and responsibility. Looking at uber demonstrates an ability to outsource the grunt work of an operation to individuals, keeping costs and responsibilities low.

While both the UK and USA have ruled that uber drivers are in fact employees, in Australia current common law has been ruled that they are independent contractors. For businesses, this has several benefits. It removes the responsibility of providing and maintaining equipment, of paying awards and it also sheds responsibility in the case of an accident or similar negative situation. Of course, it has its drawbacks, for example they can delegate the work to someone else outside your control, however it offers flexible ways to manage your business.

The new cases have helped define what is an independent contractor to allow you to supplement your employment model is safety from the Fair Work Commission.

Source: https://www.legalwiseseminars.com.au/news/contractor-or-employee-in-uber-age/

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