Sole proprietorship hiring employee or independent contractor?

[tweakerxp]

I'm currently running my business by myself as a sole proprietorship, but I'm looking to bring someone in to help me when I need it. Most likely, this person would be an independent contractor (as they would not be needed every day) but I need to know the pros and cons of both. I tried looking online, but most of the information I found was for the US. Also, how do I go about paying an independent contractor?

[83_gemini]

To keep things short--you can save some money (because you're not responsible for certain payments), and you can save yourself from a variety of regulatory regimes. That trick is making sure the person is actually treated as an independent contractor in law (the line can be blurry). But if you're hiring a consultant who isn't there all the time, and depending on the nature of the work, it is probably doable.

Another method might be using an agency--I believe (I'm no employment lawyer), the agency is the employer, which might be useful for you.

As the name suggests, they sign a contract, but instead of being an "employment contract" they would sign a "consultation agreement" or perhaps just a plain old, independent contract.

It might be useful to be advised before hiring to avoid problems down the road.

[tweakerxp]

Wow, thanks for the fantastic information. I've got some reading up to do now!