It sounds like the first thing you need to do is to admit to yourself that you made a mistake in accepting this contract and treat it as a learning experience.

It sounds like the first thing you need to do is to admit to yourself that you made a mistake in accepting this contract and treat it as a learning experience. This is actually good news for you because it means you now know of at least a few different ways that unscrupulous people can take advantage of you. You now have a better understanding of what to avoid and what to ask for when signing a work contract. For what it's worth, many of us have suffered through terrible working conditions at the start of our careers, mainly because we didn't know any better. You're definitely not alone here. The definition of an "employee" vs "contractor" varies between countries (and there are gray areas in all) but you need to know those differences before you decide to take on another contracting position. In many countries, contractors cannot be ordered by the client to work certain hours or from a certain place unless it's essential to the work being required (e.g., a security guard). It sounds like your current contact is not salvageable and I can just about 100% guarantee that any major pushback or legal action is not going to make your client suddenly decide to treat you like an adult. Your best bet is to move on, either with full-time employment and benefits, or continue contracting/freelancing but paying extra attention to the terms of the contract this time around. If you decide to keep contracting, remember that you are essentially in business for yourself, and that you have to juggle all of the things involved in that including setting rates that allow for the overhead of paying other professionals for business services such as tax preparation, health insurance, a lawyer for contract writing/review, etc.