Is your gig work really employment?
You work through an app or a contract and wonder if you count as an employee.
Being told “you are a contractor, so you have no claim” does not end the question. The law looks at how the work was actually done.
Does the word “contractor” in your agreement settle the question?
Not by itself. A document can call you a contractor, a partner, or a freelancer, and the Industrial Court still looks past that word to what happened day to day.
What actually decides whether you are an employee?
The real questions are practical:
- Who set your hours and rates?
- Could you turn down work, or send someone else in your place?
- How much did the company control the way you worked, not only the result you delivered?
The more your answers point to control, the more the relationship looks like employment, whatever the paperwork says.
Why does this status matter so much?
Unfair dismissal protection under Section 20 applies to an employee under a contract of service, not to someone genuinely running their own business and simply supplying services.
If you are found to be an employee, the usual protections follow, including the same 60-day deadline to act.1 Your employer also carries the burden of proving a genuine reason for ending the arrangement.2
What if my status is genuinely unclear?
Unclear does not mean you have no claim. Status is decided by how the work actually ran, so gather that evidence before you assume the contract’s label has settled it.
The same applies if your work also involved a fixed-term contract alongside the gig arrangement.
What to do this week
Save anything that shows how your work was actually controlled: schedules, instructions, exclusivity terms, and how your pay was set and paid out.
Treat your last working day as the possible start of the 60-day clock. Work out your exact deadline while the details are still fresh, in case your status turns out to be employment.
If you want to claim, request lawyer contact first; only after an identified independent lawyer has contacted you and specifically requested the material, send those records directly to that lawyer. They can review how your work was arranged and act for you if you count as an employee.
If you work through a platform or on contract and are thinking of claiming as an employee, describe how your work was controlled. An independent lawyer can review whether the claim is worth pursuing.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.
Common questions
My contract says I am an independent contractor. Does that settle it?
No, not by itself. What the document calls you is a starting point, not the final word. The Industrial Court looks at how the work actually happened, not only the label written on the page.
What if I get work through an app or platform?
Working through an app does not automatically make you self-employed or an employee. What matters more is how much control the platform has over your hours, your rates and how the work is done.
Can I claim unfair dismissal once I am found to be an employee?
Yes. Once you are treated as an employee covered by the Industrial Relations Act, the same unfair dismissal protections apply to you, including the same deadline to act.
What if I have done the same gig work for years?
A long, steady working relationship, with set hours or little freedom to work elsewhere, is one of the things that can point toward employment rather than genuine self-employment. It is worth writing down your hours and who set them.
What if my status is unclear?
Unclear is common with app and contract work. How the work was actually arranged decides it, so list who set your hours, your rates and your tasks. A lawyer can then say whether it looks like employment before anything is filed.
Sources
- An employee who considers they were dismissed without just cause or excuse may make a written representation to the Director General of Industrial Relations, asking to be reinstated, within 60 days of the dismissal (Section 20, Industrial Relations Act 1967). Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
- The burden of proving just cause and excuse for a dismissal rests with the employer, not the employee, once the claim reaches the Industrial Court. Mah Weng Kwai & Associates, Unfair Dismissal
Keep reading
If you work through a platform or on contract and are thinking of claiming as an employee, describe how your work was controlled. An independent lawyer can review whether the claim is worth pursuing.
For people seeking legal representation. For general information, please use our guides and tools.
First contact: general facts only, such as date, location, employment status and a short summary. Keep documents private until an identified independent lawyer contacts you and specifically requests them.