Calling someone an independent contractor in a contract doesn't necessarily make them one. That is especially true when the day to day business relationship looks nothing like an independent enterprise.
In Pringle v. Zenova Group PLC, 2026 ONCA 549, an executive performed services in Ontario for a company based abroad. His written agreement described him as a contractor and included a term selecting an English forum for disputes. When the relationship ended, he sued in Ontario. The company argued that the case belonged elsewhere, and the legal dispute turned partly on whether Ontario's employment protections applied despite the wording of the agreement.
The Court of Appeal examined the real relationship. The worker had little business risk and limited opportunity to increase profit by running a separate operation. His work was integrated into the company, which supplied key resources and presented him externally as part of its business. His job title, communications and office arrangements supported an employment relationship, not a genuinely independent business.
The Court concluded that he was an employee for purposes of Ontario's Employment Standards Act, 2000. The foreign forum selection clause couldn't be used to defeat the relevant statutory protections, and Ontario had a sufficient connection to the dispute. The appeal was allowed, the stay of the action was lifted and the underlying proceedings could move forward. The Court didn't finally resolve the wrongful dismissal damages claim.
The practical issue is one of substance. Organizations with remote executives, consultants or overseas affiliates can mistakenly assume that choosing a contract label and foreign governing forum eliminates local employment obligations. Courts may instead look at economic dependence, control, integration and how the work actually happened.
Workers should also distinguish the victory in jurisdiction from a victory on the merits. Gaining access to a court means the claim can be heard, not that its factual allegations have already been proven.
Source: Ontario Court of Appeal, Pringle v. Zenova Group PLC, 2026 ONCA 549. Ontario Bar Association appellate digest: https://www.oba.org/court-of-appeal-summaries-july-27-july-31/