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It's not actually that clear cut. There are at least a dozen factors that speak to the differences between an employee and a contractor, and setting your own ra

by db48x 3y ago

It's not actually that clear cut. There are at least a dozen factors that speak to the differences between an employee and a contractor, and setting your own rates or prices is only one of them. In general, you don't need to have all of these different factors before you are deemed a contractor, you only need several of them. And one of those factors is whether you bring significant equipment of your own to do the job, or if you use your employer’s equipment. Ride–share drivers drive their own personal car, which is a big step towards being a contractor. They also choose which jobs to accept, and what hours to work. Compare that with a Chef. The Chef at a restaurant decides on the menu, buys (or at least orders) the food, and cooks it to their own specifications. All of pushes them towards contractor. But they do all of that in their employer’s kitchen, using equipment provided by the employer. Therefore the IRS generally decides that chefs are employees.

swores 3y ago
Most chefs don't get to set their own pay rates, nor hours. If a restaurant gave a chef a contract of "come in and help our kitchen team whenever you like, but up to you how often you do" would using the employer's equipment matter? The things you said (choosing what food to buy etc) just means their boss (ie maybe the owner of the place) has made choosing food part of their job requirement. I can't imagine how being given more responsibility like that is in any way related to contractor or not, as long as the chef's job requires them to provide food to paying customers.
- db48x 3y ago
  One of the things that the IRS looks at is who makes the decisions. If your boss decides what you work on, how you do the work, when you do the work, and where you do the work, then you are probably an employee (but there are other factors to consider as well). However, the more of those that you choose for yourself then the more likely it is that you are actually a contractor. So there are some factors in favor of the chef being a contractor. However, you are right; it is very rare for a chef to actually be a contractor. That’s because these factors are usually outweighed by others. In particular, the chef works in a kitchen owned by their employer, and they can really only be the chef of one restaurant at a time. But this is the point of the example: both the chef and the ride–share driver make similar decisions for themselves. They both decide for themselves how to accomplish the goal given to them by their employer. But unlike the chef, the ride–share driver also provides their own car. That’s a huge financial commitment that the driver makes and brings to the arrangement. Plus, they can easily work for more than one service at a time. Sure, they can only have one passenger at a time, but they can sign in to multiple services at the same time and pick and choose between jobs offered by all of them. So while a chef is rarely going to be a contractor, a ride–share driver probably is. They have many more factors in favor of them being a contractor than the chef has.

by db48x 3y ago

swores 3y ago

Most chefs don't get to set their own pay rates, nor hours. If a restaurant gave a chef a contract of "come in and help our kitchen team whenever you like, but up to you how often you do" would using the employer's equipment matter? The things you said (choosing what food to buy etc) just means their boss (ie maybe the owner of the place) has made choosing food part of their job requirement. I can't imagine how being given more responsibility like that is in any way related to contractor or not, as long as the chef's job requires them to provide food to paying customers.

db48x 3y ago
One of the things that the IRS looks at is who makes the decisions. If your boss decides what you work on, how you do the work, when you do the work, and where you do the work, then you are probably an employee (but there are other factors to consider as well). However, the more of those that you choose for yourself then the more likely it is that you are actually a contractor. So there are some factors in favor of the chef being a contractor. However, you are right; it is very rare for a chef to actually be a contractor. That’s because these factors are usually outweighed by others. In particular, the chef works in a kitchen owned by their employer, and they can really only be the chef of one restaurant at a time. But this is the point of the example: both the chef and the ride–share driver make similar decisions for themselves. They both decide for themselves how to accomplish the goal given to them by their employer. But unlike the chef, the ride–share driver also provides their own car. That’s a huge financial commitment that the driver makes and brings to the arrangement. Plus, they can easily work for more than one service at a time. Sure, they can only have one passenger at a time, but they can sign in to multiple services at the same time and pick and choose between jobs offered by all of them. So while a chef is rarely going to be a contractor, a ride–share driver probably is. They have many more factors in favor of them being a contractor than the chef has.