Business, HST and payroll
What is the Employee or self-employed?
Whether a worker is an employee or a contractor is decided by the real working relationship, like control, tools, risk and chance of profit, not by what the contract says.
Good to know
Getting it wrong can mean back payroll deductions and penalties.
Also called: contractor vs employee, contractor status.
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Reviewed by the Done Right Accounting team. Last reviewed October 2026.