Contractors are different from employees. Contractors do not have the same rights as employees and must resolve their disputes with your community venue through the Disputes Tribunal, or another avenue that has been agreed between you (e.g. independent mediation).
Whether someone will be considered an employee or contractor depends on the “real nature of the relationship”, rather than what the contract or agreement says. Some factors that the courts will consider in determining whether a person is an employee or contractor are:
- what the intention of the parties was
- who controls how and when the job is done
- whether the person is paid in instalments or at the end of the job
- whether the person can employ someone else to undertake work for them
- who pays the tax, ACC levies and/or insurance relating to the person
- whether the person can make a profit or loss directly
- who supplies the equipment and materials for the work
- if the person is free to accept similar work from other sources at the same time
If you wish to have a contractor relationship with a person who will do work for your community venue rather than an employee relationship, you should seek further legal advice about how to do this.