You Are an Independent Contractor — You Have No Right to Leave, Social Security, or Notice
A worker classified as an independent contractor discovers they have been deliberately misclassified to deny them the labour protections that apply to employees.
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The Situation
What They Said
“You are not our employee — you are an independent contractor. The contract says so. You have no right to sick leave, annual leave, social security, or notice. If we no longer need you, we simply stop giving you work.”
A worker — a delivery driver, platform worker, domestic helper engaged through an agency, security guard hired through a labour broker, or any worker engaged under a 'service agreement' — is told they have no employment rights because their contract uses the words 'independent contractor' or 'service provider.' This deliberate misclassification is a pervasive labour rights violation, affecting many gig economy and outsourced workers.
The Fallacy
Label as Legal Reality — Calling Someone a Contractor Does Not Make Them One
The employer treats the words 'independent contractor' in the contract as a legally determinative fact. But labour law does not allow the parties to choose an employment classification by labelling it. What determines whether a person is an employee is not what the contract says — it is what the relationship actually looks like. Many legal systems create a legal presumption: if certain conditions are present (including working primarily for one person, or having your hours and methods dictated), the law presumes you are an employee regardless of the contract's label. An employer cannot contract out of labour law obligations by calling an employee a contractor.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Ley de Contrato de Trabajo 20.744
art. 23 de la Ley de Contrato de Trabajo — Presumption of employment relationship
“The fact of providing services in a situation of dependency presumes the existence of an employment contract, unless the contrary is demonstrated by the circumstances, relationships, or causes that motivate it.”
If you are actually working under the control and direction of the company (in a situation of dependency), the law presumes you are an employee, regardless of the contract's label. The employer must prove otherwise; mere wording as 'independent contractor' is not enough.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Deuteronomy 24:14–15 (NET)
“You must not oppress a poor and needy hired worker, whether one of your fellow Israelites or one of the foreigners who lives in your land — in your towns. You must pay his wage on that day before the sun sets, because he is poor and his life depends on it.”
The substance of the relationship — a person working for another in economic dependence — creates moral and legal obligations regardless of what the arrangement is called. Scripture does not exempt a master from responsibility toward a worker simply because the hiring was labelled something other than employment.
Luke 10:7 (NET)
“Stay in that same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the worker deserves his pay. Do not move around from house to house.”
A worker who has provided their labour deserves the full reward of their work — including the security of leave, protection from arbitrary dismissal, and insurance against unemployment. These are not extras. They are what a worker deserves by virtue of working.
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You Know the Law — But Do You Know What to Say?
Reading your rights is one thing. Using them under pressure — calmly, correctly, in the right words — is what actually protects you. Members get the scripted rebuttal for this exact situation: what to say first, what to say if they push back, the tone to use, and the constitutional provision to cite. Practise out loud with audio until it's automatic.