A business hires someone to provide specialized services, asks for an invoice every month and uses an agreement titled independent contractor. A year later, the worker has a company email address, attends mandatory staff meetings, works set hours, needs permission for time away and has no other clients. Management still believes it has contracted for a separate business because everyone signed the agreement. That is precisely the assumption an HR classification review should test. Worker status turns on the substance of the relationship. The Canada Revenue Agency's detailed guidance explains that the parties' stated intention matters but must be compared with the actual terms and working conditions. For an engagement outside Quebec, factors commonly include who controls the work, who owns or supplies tools, whether the person may hire assistants, the person's financial risk, responsibility for investment and management, and opportunity for profit. No single box on a contract determines the answer for every case. Quebec has a distinct statutory and civil law analysis that must be assessed separately.
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