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Procedure for Determining Employee vs. Independent Contractor Status

Approval Date: 2015-09-10

Effective Date: 2015-09-10

Responsible Unit: Department of Human Resources

Procedure

  1. Once the identification of the need for work to be performed is made, the responsible individual within the unit (for faculties and schools, this would be a senior administrative officer; for non-academic units, this would be the administrative manager or unit head) is consulted for determining the type of work needed and the development of a description of the job duties.

  2. The responsible individual within the unit determines the initial status of the relationship. To make this assessment, they may refer to:

    a. The Summary Chart of Tax Treatment to determine if the current situation is outlined in the examples listed.

    b. If the current situation is not outlined in the Summary Chart of Tax Treatment and there is the potential that the relationship is independent contractor, the unit must complete the Assessment of Status form. The completed Assessment form must be forwarded to the Department of Human Resources along with a detailed description of work to be performed and credentials of the individual of business entity.

  3. The responsible individual then consults with its Human Resources Advisor or Manager if applicable (Grenfell, Medicine, and Marine Institute) to review and discuss the work to be performed based on their assessment.

  4. The Campus Human Resources Designate makes the final decision as to the status of the relationship prior to commencement of work to be performed.

  5. If it is deemed that an employee/employer relationship exists, the responsible individual within the unit consults with its Human Resources Advisor, or Manager, and proceeds based on hiring processes.

  6. If it is determined that an independent contractor relationship exists, the unit must complete the “Independent Contractor Agreement” or “Freelance Agreement” as applicable. The Contract Administration Policy should be consulted for appropriate signing authority.

    a. If no changes are required to the Independent Contractor Agreement, the unit completes the form and forwards the signed contract to Financial and Administrative Services for payment. A copy of the Assessment of Status form, a copy of the invoice for payment and the purchase order must accompany the Independent Contractor Agreement.

    b. If changes are requested to the Independent Contractor Agreement, the unit recommends required changes and takes the appropriate action (either i or ii below):

i. If the changes are related to Liability insurance, the responsible individual within the unit forwards the recommended revisions to the Office of the Chief Risk Officer for advice. When advice is provided and the necessary changes have been made to the agreement, the signed revised contract along with confirmation from the Office of the Chief Risk Officer is sent to Financial and Administrative Services for payment. A copy of the approved Assessment of Status Form, a copy of the invoice for payment and the purchase order must also accompany the revised Independent Contractor Agreement form.

ii. If the changes are related to other clauses, the responsible individual within the unit forwards the recommended revisions to the Office of the General Counsel for advice. When advice is provided and the necessary changes have been made to the agreement, the signed revised contract along with confirmation from the Office of the General Counsel is sent to Financial and Administrative Services for payment. A copy of the approved Assessment of Status Form, a copy of the invoice for payment and the purchase order must accompany the revised Independent Contractor Agreement form.

A condensed version of this procedure can also be viewed in a procedural Flow Chart.

Policies using this procedure:

Procedure Amendment History

There are past amendments for this policy:

Action: Created full working copy
Date: 2024-01-15 16:40:28
Action: REPLACED
Date: 2024-01-15 16:45:50
This procedure was replaced with a new version. Comment provided: PEC approved incidental amendments on January 9, 2024
Action: Created full working copy
Date: 2024-01-16 15:07:09