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At least in the United States, contractors at all of the companies (ranging from 50, 500, to 5000 employees) I've worked at have had the least ability to set th

At least in the United States, contractors at all of the companies (ranging from 50, 500, to 5000 employees) I've worked at have had the least ability to set their own hours and no ability to pick the tasks they work on. They work for third party contracting agencies, get no stock, and aren't invited to the all-hands or the company parties. On the flip side, if they work a 60 hour work week, they get paid for 60 hours. And, in mature companies, they seem to get paid a higher hourly salary than employees - but, they get few, if any, benefits like medical/vision/dental.

JoeAltmaier 13y ago
Hm. I was an independent contractor for years. I got to pick every project I was on. Well, 'bid for' is a better term. I accepted only those that I was interested in, AND paid well. Once the project starts I was almost completely independent. That's the nature of a contractor vs an employee - no day-to-day supervision, just milestones to accomplish. So I'm not sure I know what kind of contractor you're talking about.
- selectodude 13y ago
  It sounds like you were in more of a consultant role, where the company had a particular task, and paid you handsomely to do it. A lot of companies nowadays will hire you as an employee (come into the office every day, give you projects to do, report to a boss, ect.) but for tax purposes, will pay you as an independent contractor, as to not give you benefits or sick/personal leave.
- nknighthb 13y ago
  You and the parent are talking about two different types of "contractor". You are talking about an individual working as a proper independent contractor. You pick your clients, negotiate rates and other details, provide your own insurance, pay your own employment taxes, your clients send you 1099s every year. ghshephard is talking about workers who are typically W-2 employees of a contracting agency. The agency contracts with the "employer" to provide the workers. The "employer" pays the agency who in turn pays the workers, pays various employment taxes, sometimes provide health insurance and other basic benefits. There is a third type, which selectodude in a sibling comment to this one posted about. Those are individuals working directly for a company which is abusing the term/status "independent contractor". This is not terribly rare, but it is illegal, and can get the employer in trouble with the IRS and state DOL if reported, especially if the workers haven't been paying the taxes themselves.

JoeAltmaier 13y ago

Hm. I was an independent contractor for years. I got to pick every project I was on. Well, 'bid for' is a better term. I accepted only those that I was interested in, AND paid well. Once the project starts I was almost completely independent. That's the nature of a contractor vs an employee - no day-to-day supervision, just milestones to accomplish. So I'm not sure I know what kind of contractor you're talking about.

selectodude 13y ago
It sounds like you were in more of a consultant role, where the company had a particular task, and paid you handsomely to do it. A lot of companies nowadays will hire you as an employee (come into the office every day, give you projects to do, report to a boss, ect.) but for tax purposes, will pay you as an independent contractor, as to not give you benefits or sick/personal leave.
nknighthb 13y ago
You and the parent are talking about two different types of "contractor". You are talking about an individual working as a proper independent contractor. You pick your clients, negotiate rates and other details, provide your own insurance, pay your own employment taxes, your clients send you 1099s every year. ghshephard is talking about workers who are typically W-2 employees of a contracting agency. The agency contracts with the "employer" to provide the workers. The "employer" pays the agency who in turn pays the workers, pays various employment taxes, sometimes provide health insurance and other basic benefits. There is a third type, which selectodude in a sibling comment to this one posted about. Those are individuals working directly for a company which is abusing the term/status "independent contractor". This is not terribly rare, but it is illegal, and can get the employer in trouble with the IRS and state DOL if reported, especially if the workers haven't been paying the taxes themselves.