Independent contractor - Canadian Work Experience

[arash0a]

Hi Friends,

I have worked 14 months on a full-time basis for a Canadian construction company located in Toronto as a business analyst and project coordinator. As I found we do not get point for self-employed work experience in Canada. I have been on a contract as an independent contractor with this company(according to our contract) but my roles and responsibilities and my relationship with them was a kind of employer-employee relationship. I would appreciate letting me know if my work experience counts for FSW or CEC?

I can provide letter of reference from my employer, contracts, invoices, and Notice of Reassessment as supporting documents for my work experience.

 

[JoacRy]

Hi Friends,

I have worked 14 months on a full-time basis for a Canadian construction company located in Toronto as a business analyst and project coordinator. As I found we do not get point for self-employed work experience in Canada. I have been on a contract as an independent contractor with this company(according to our contract) but my roles and responsibilities and my relationship with them was a kind of employer-employee relationship. I would appreciate letting me know if my work experience counts for FSW or CEC?

I can provide letter of reference from my employer, contracts, invoices, and Notice of Reassessment as supporting documents for my work experience.

Can you please elaborate a bit further? Basically the following applies:

a) Contract of service - (More likely Employer-Employee relationship). Characteristics include; having set working hrs, employer providing tools etc. for the work, contractor not responsible for the results, likely T4 issued

b) Contract for Service - (More likely Client- Contractor relationship). Characteristics include; Contractor setting working hrs, contractor providing tools for job, contractor responsible for results, contractor likely to have provided invoice for services

(b) does not count for CEC but can be used for FSW.

 

[arash0a]

Thanks JoacRy for your reply.

My contract states "the Contractor will be paid the sum of $15 per hour, maximum of 37.5 hours per week. The Company will be invoiced monthly upon completion of the services, with payment due within 30 business days of receipt of the invoice."
The company provides all tools and I am not responsible for any profit or loss. My working hours are weekdays 8am-5pm. I file my own tax and I don't receive T4.

 

[JoacRy]

Thanks JoacRy for your reply.

My contract states "the Contractor will be paid the sum of $15 per hour, maximum of 37.5 hours per week. The Company will be invoiced monthly upon completion of the services, with payment due within 30 business days of receipt of the invoice."
The company provides all tools and I am not responsible for any profit or loss. My working hours are weekdays 8am-5pm. I file my own tax and I don't receive T4.

To me it seems like this is a 'Contract of Service' as:

1) You are responsible for your own taxes
2) You didn't receive a T4
3) The company is being Invoiced periodically

I say this based on my own experience, where I was working in a job for 3 months where I was contracted to the recruitment agency, and my details were similar (except I did receive a T4). The only thing was in my experience I did not Invoice the company, and the recruitment agent paid me directly.

Wait for replies from others.

 

[arash0a]

When I created my profile I did not check the self-employment as I believed I am not self-employed. If you check the box you will not get any point even for FSW. Today I received the ITA for FSW.
My first question is that how CIC accepts self-employment work experience while you are not given any point at the beginning?
My second question is if CIC sees my contract as a self-employment work experience, is it the case of misrepresentation?

 

[stubish]

Did you have a work visa? If so then you've got a NOC code. Find out what it is and see if you can apply.

 

[arash0a]

Thank you guys for answers.

I found this on CIC website.

Factors to consider – employee vs. self-employed

the degree of the worker’s control or autonomy in terms of how and when work is performed, and the method(s) used to do the work;
whether the worker owns and/or provides tools and equipment to accomplish the work;
the degree to which the worker has to perform the work personally and whether the worker has the option of subcontracting work or hiring others to help and assist with completing the work;
the degree of financial risk assumed by the worker, including whether the worker is required to make any investment in order to complete the work or provide the service and whether the worker is free to make business decisions that affect his/her ability to realize a profit or incur a loss (as opposed to the opportunity to earn commissions or other productivity bonuses); and
any other relevant factors, such as written contracts.

However, there is no obligation under the regulations that CEC applicants provide a T4 tax information slip or NOA specifically with their application, and these particular documents cannot be considered conclusive evidence or the only evidence accepted for the purposes of substantiating whether an applicant has qualifying Canadian work experience. As such, in the absence of a T4 tax information slip or NOA, documents which may help substantiate the applicant’s work experience in Canada could include a record or letter of employment from the Canadian employer, work contracts and pay stubs.

According to the above mentioned factors, i think my work experience can be considered as an employee.

 

[asd1985]

Thank you guys for answers.

I found this on CIC website.

Factors to consider – employee vs. self-employed

the degree of the worker’s control or autonomy in terms of how and when work is performed, and the method(s) used to do the work;
whether the worker owns and/or provides tools and equipment to accomplish the work;
the degree to which the worker has to perform the work personally and whether the worker has the option of subcontracting work or hiring others to help and assist with completing the work;
the degree of financial risk assumed by the worker, including whether the worker is required to make any investment in order to complete the work or provide the service and whether the worker is free to make business decisions that affect his/her ability to realize a profit or incur a loss (as opposed to the opportunity to earn commissions or other productivity bonuses); and
any other relevant factors, such as written contracts.

However, there is no obligation under the regulations that CEC applicants provide a T4 tax information slip or NOA specifically with their application, and these particular documents cannot be considered conclusive evidence or the only evidence accepted for the purposes of substantiating whether an applicant has qualifying Canadian work experience. As such, in the absence of a T4 tax information slip or NOA, documents which may help substantiate the applicant’s work experience in Canada could include a record or letter of employment from the Canadian employer, work contracts and pay stubs.

According to the above mentioned factors, i think my work experience can be considered as an employee.

Did it? Please let me know as i'm in the same boat. I have 6 months of WE as full-time employee but the other 6 months consists of working as an independent contractor.

Thanks!

 

[capt.nemo]

In the same situation, only difference my job does not provide me fixed hours in a week, not sure what to do!

 

[Swasanth]

Hello Everyone,

I have been working as a Independent Contractor (NOC A) for 5 months(June- Oct 2016) I don't have pay stubs from my employer but I have a contractor agreement for the term. I have worked for 30 hrs/ week. Now I am working full time in another company(2 months until now and ongoing). Will I be eligible to show my contractor experience along with the ongoing experience after 5 months as 1 year of full time experience for EE ? Or should I wait until I gain complete 1 year without the contractor period of work? Thank you in advance !

 

[capt.nemo]

Well. I have been looking for this answer for a very long time and still unsure.

I have completed 1560 in NOC B in 2 years.
I work between 10 to 30 hours in a week.
No T4. I have all pay stubs and invoices.
As per the definition in CIC given by the previous poster I fall mostly in employee category. So I am going to file as an employee. And I will not check the self-employed checkbox.

 

[asd1985]

Well. I have been looking for this answer for a very long time and still unsure.

I have completed 1560 in NOC B in 2 years.
I work between 10 to 30 hours in a week.
No T4. I have all pay stubs and invoices.
As per the definition in CIC given by the previous poster I fall mostly in employee category. So I am going to file as an employee. And I will not check the self-employed checkbox.

The thing is, they dont seem to answer this over the phone. I've been trying to ask them if working for a corporation you founded counts as WE or not. I left the "self-employed" box unchecked and got an ITA yesterday. Now i dont know if i just accept the ITA or not. If i accept it and they end up rejecting my application, by claiming that it doesnt count, then i dont know what implications i might suffer because of that. Just confusing.

 

[Savtodd]

Hi arash0a,

Did you get your PR? I am in the same situation whereby I worked for 4 months as an independent contractor, but very much like an employee relationship. Did your application work?

Thank you so much!

Thank you guys for answers.

I found this on CIC website.

Factors to consider – employee vs. self-employed

the degree of the worker’s control or autonomy in terms of how and when work is performed, and the method(s) used to do the work;
whether the worker owns and/or provides tools and equipment to accomplish the work;
the degree to which the worker has to perform the work personally and whether the worker has the option of subcontracting work or hiring others to help and assist with completing the work;
the degree of financial risk assumed by the worker, including whether the worker is required to make any investment in order to complete the work or provide the service and whether the worker is free to make business decisions that affect his/her ability to realize a profit or incur a loss (as opposed to the opportunity to earn commissions or other productivity bonuses); and
any other relevant factors, such as written contracts.

However, there is no obligation under the regulations that CEC applicants provide a T4 tax information slip or NOA specifically with their application, and these particular documents cannot be considered conclusive evidence or the only evidence accepted for the purposes of substantiating whether an applicant has qualifying Canadian work experience. As such, in the absence of a T4 tax information slip or NOA, documents which may help substantiate the applicant’s work experience in Canada could include a record or letter of employment from the Canadian employer, work contracts and pay stubs.

According to the above mentioned factors, i think my work experience can be considered as an employee.

 

[nj87]

Hi arash0a,

Did you get your PR? I am in the same situation whereby I worked for 4 months as an independent contractor, but very much like an employee relationship. Did your application work?

Thank you so much!

Hi @Savtodd, I'm in the same situation, can you share about your experience?

 

[pedro65]

Hi Friends,

I have worked 14 months on a full-time basis for a Canadian construction company located in Toronto as a business analyst and project coordinator. As I found we do not get point for self-employed work experience in Canada. I have been on a contract as an independent contractor with this company(according to our contract) but my roles and responsibilities and my relationship with them was a kind of employer-employee relationship. I would appreciate letting me know if my work experience counts for FSW or CEC?

I can provide letter of reference from my employer, contracts, invoices, and Notice of Reassessment as supporting documents for my work experience.

Hey, did you apply for PR under CEC? Were you approved? I`m in the same boat working as as Administrative Assistant for 2 Realtors.