Working as an independent contractor (IC) has been highly commended in the today’s world following its great appeal to the labor market at large. This can be highly attributed to its many advantages, which accrues to both the employer and IC. However, this does not imply that such relationship is void of disadvantages. This paper presents the pros and risks of ICs to the employers and employees, as well as the key elements of this IC relationship.
Fishman (2016) says that this relationship could be quite advantageous to the employer. This is because it presents an excellent opportunity to save capital. He says that hiring ICs is less expensive than having full-time employees in an organization. This is simply because the employer only pays for services provided for a particular period of time by the IC. The employer also enjoys having flexible working staff. Therefore, they can hire a fluctuating number of ICs according to the amount of work he would like done (Fishman, 2016).
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The ICs themselves also stand a high chance of benefiting from this relationship. The worker can operate in multiple places at a given time. This could most probably occur when the skills of the worker are in high demand on the market. The advantage of working at different places within a given period is that employee’ income base increases. Again, the IC becomes his own boss. He oversees over his work schedule and plans on what to do and when to do it without having someone decide it for him.
However, it is important to note that this relationship is quite risky to the employer. Firstly, it allows one to have little or no control over workers. An IC cannot be monitored and supervised like any other employees; thus the employer is not guaranteed of an excellent performance from this relationship. Besides, the employers risk government audits in their organizations. This is because the government advocates for workers to be hired on a full-time basis because it leads to increased tax payment (Fishman, 2016). Again, Fishman (2016) adds that the employer might not own copyright rights in the work done or created by an IC. This is because an IC is an independent agent and can own the copyrights of creation they make.
Key elements of IC relationships are: defining the relationship, outlining terms of the contract, terms of payment and protection of the IC. Defining the relationship involves setting out what the IC’s relationship with the contractor/employer is. Terms are then presented to provide a basis of executing the contract, and it includes the amount and mode of payment. The IC’s personal well-being is also considered in case anything happens to them in the line of work.
In conclusion, independent contracting is a good idea for the employee-worker relationship platform. However, just like any other advantageous thing, such relationship comes along with its cons as discussed above. It is; therefore, advisable for one to take keen measures before engaging in the same.
References
Fishman, S. (2016). Pros and Cons of Hiring Independent Contractors . Nol . Retrieved fro m http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/pros-cons-hiring-independent-contractors-30053.html
