Case Study 1
Background
Client: Pre-purchase house inspections
Problem solved: Managing contractors
Our client operated a successful business providing pre-purchase inspections for home buyers in Sydney. As a result of their success, and to limit the distance they had to travel, they started engaging subcontractors to complete the inspections and complete the reports.
A business consultant they were working with suggested they could save costs and use the agreement he provided for them to engage his services, with small changes. We appreciate that every business is aiming to save unnecessary costs where they can, that is part of doing business, but it is also important to ensure you aren’t putting your business at risk.
Solution
We explained to our client the gaps in a contract designed for a contractor to deliver services (favourable to the consultant) compared with a contract engaging service providers (favourable to the company engaging contractors) where you want to manage quality and ensure faulty services are fixed promptly. There was also a significant difference in how the consultant described his services, and the services our client required from the people they wanted to engage as contractors.
The contract we designed for our client gave them the ability to easily engage people on a trial basis and monitor for quality, which helped them to rapidly scale their business and grow their brand.
Create the right contracts for your business.
Find out moreCase Study 2
Background
Client: Multi-faceted product and service provider
Problem solved: Differentiating between contractors and employees
There are certain industries (like IT and financial services) where a higher than average number of people would prefer to be engaged as consultants rather than employees. In those circumstances, a business runs the risk of either the Fair Work Commission, or the Australian Tax Office (ATO) determining that a consultant was actually an employee. In Fair Work, that can open a business up to having to pay employee entitlements, and in the case of the ATO, can expose a business to PAYG and superannuation obligations.
Solution
We had a client engaging people as consultants who, due to the level of control exercised by our client over the work done, was at risk of having those workers declared employees.
We assisted our client to amend their engagement letters and internal procedures to ensure consultants had a higher level of responsibility and accountability for their work, with a lower exercise of control by our client. This did require some strategic changes within our client’s business and we worked with the executive to ensure that all workers were properly informed and part of the process. They have not had any concerns with consultants since.
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