Called a contractor, but work like an employee?

You signed a document calling you an independent contractor or consultant. Yet you sit at a company desk, follow a fixed schedule and answer to a manager like everyone else.

A written label does not always match legal reality. When a dismissal happens, whether you were an employee becomes the first question in any gig worker classification dispute.

What actually decides whether I am an employee?

Courts look beyond the contract’s wording to factors such as control over your work, integration into the business, and whether you could refuse assignments or send someone else.

A worker who is paid regularly, has a fixed workspace, follows company policies and cannot work for competitors looks like an employee in substance.

Why would a company prefer calling me a contractor?

Labelling someone a contractor can reduce statutory obligations and avoid protections such as unfair dismissal rights, even where the working relationship says otherwise.

That preference does not make the label accurate. What matters legally is how you actually worked, not the title on the page.

What evidence supports a finding of real employment?

Gather your fixed schedule, any company email address or equipment issued to you, and instructions about how, not just what, your work should be done.

Keep records of exclusivity: whether you were allowed to take other clients or effectively worked for this company alone.

How does the 60-day deadline apply if I am dismissed?

If you are found to be genuinely an employee, you still have 60 days from the dismissal to file a Section 20 representation.¹ This is the written claim you lodge to say your dismissal was unfair, and it goes to the Director General of Industrial Relations.

Your employer must show the contractor arrangement was genuine, not just point to the label in your agreement.²

What should you do this week?

Write out a typical working week, including your hours, your reporting line, and how much control you had over how and when you worked.

If you were also paid purely by commission, read about being paid commission only but treated like an employee. Then use the deadline calculator to check your window.

If you want a lawyer to assess your status and act if you are let go unfairly, describe a typical week to an independent employment lawyer. They can review whether it is a case they can act on.