Canadian HR Reporter features Shannon Sproule from our firm in regard to the article “Ontario worker deemed employee or dependent contractor, gets 18 months’ reasonable notice”, dated December 2, 2024. This article is based on a ruling by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in which a worker with 12 years of service was deemed not to be an independent contractor and is entitled to 18 months’ notice.
“For any company looking to hire a worker and have them deemed to be an independent contractor, it’s the substance of the relationship that matters,” says Shannon Sproule, an employment lawyer at Turnpenney Milne in Toronto. “This was deemed to be indefinite because it was 12 years long and all the factors were at play – there was control of the clients and the work, which is key for establishing that it’s an employment or dependent contractor relationship.”
“The more you control, the more it’s actually your employee – that’s the meaning of an employee relationship,” she adds. “An independent contractor should theoretically be able to do other work, but in this case, the worker didn’t have any other clients – how could he have other clients when he’s working full time?”
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