Employee, Contract Worker, Freelancer: Which is Best for Your Open Position?

Employee, freelance, contract worker: if the differences between these employee classifications have you confused, you're not alone. Unfortunately, misclassified employees can lead to serious problems for your company! How do you decide which option is the best way to go for your open position? Here's a quick look at the differences to help you decide.

Employee

An employee is contracted directly with the employer. They are expected to personally do the work required, rather than contracting the work out to a third party. There is an obligation for the employer to provide work and for the employee to perform the work that is provided. There's also an expectation that the employee will carry out the work in a particular manner, following the employer's policies and procedures to accomplish the task.

Contract Worker

A contract worker is provided to a company through an outside agency, such as a temp agency. For this reason, the agency provides the most qualified candidate for the project, but it may not be a specific person. There is still the expectation that the provided worker will complete the work personally, but the process of handling payroll, taxes and changes to government requirements is mainly handled by the agency, rather than the company receiving the work.

Freelance Worker

A freelance worker works with the company to complete a particular project, but the location where the work is done, the manner in which it is accomplished and whether the freelance worker is completing the work personally or through a third party is the worker's decision, not the company, provided that the result meets the requirements. This can work well in some circumstances, but when a particular process must be followed, it may not be appropriate.

By using the proper employee classification for your open position, you can ensure that your company will be protected from legal problems down the road. But what if you're not quite sure whether the employee classification you're considering is the right one for your next project? The experienced business professionals at AccountRely can not only help you with that classification, but they can also provide you with contract workers to make your job easier. Please feel free to reach out today to get started.