Why To Use An Independent Contractor Agreement

When you have a service that you want to get sorted out for your company but do not have the resources to hire a new member for your full time staff, this means that you may want to create an independent contractor agreement. When you use an independent contractor agreement to hire a temporary member of your team, it means that you are paying them outright for a specific service that is defined in the independent contractor agreement. This means that you do not have to worry about the cost of payroll or other employee management functions such as human resources records, insurance or taxation. Rather, your independent contractor agreement with the temporary helper should explain that they are on the hook for their own safety, tax and training costs. An independent contractor agreement means that they are, indeed, independent and that you do not assume liability for their services beyond what is stated in that agreement. This has a potential down side, since you may hire a contractor that will claim to be the best in the business for that given service. They will perform very well for one invoice cycle, only to end up being a real pain. However, most workers who sign an independent contractor agreement know that they are expected to be professional. You may not have as much of a chance to vet them as you would with a full time member of your staff, but you will be able to monitor the performance of the contractor. You will be able to end the agreement as you see fit. This usually drives the contractor to do their best work, so this risk is minimized. The benefits, in addition to less stress over the taxes and other HR matters, include a much simpler recruiting method. If the risk is that they may end up being a bust, the benefit is that your job posting for a contractor tends to attract the best in your area. Contractors know that they are expected to do well. They often know that there is not a full time job in the mix, so they want to end on good terms and at least line up a strong reference, as well as open the door to doing future business with your company. Thus, when the smartest and most reliable contractors are easy to spot, sign an independent contractor agreement that gets you started with their services.