Contract trap · Employment
Fake contractor status
The contract declares the worker an independent contractor / самозанятый with 'no benefits, responsible for all taxes', yet imposes fixed hours, a workplace, supervision, monthly flat pay, exclusivity, personal performance and an indefinite term — the hallmarks of employment.
- Severity
- Severe
- How often it turns up
- Common
- Holds up?
- Often void
- Clause phrases
- 23
What it looks like in a contract
Redline matches these phrases against your document verbatim. Drafters rarely invent new wording — they copy it, which is why the same sentences turn up across unrelated contracts.
In English-language contracts
- Contractor is an independent contractor and not an employee
- shall not be entitled to any benefits
- responsible for all taxes
- shall work from Company's premises during business hours
- under the supervision of
- must obtain approval for time off
- shall comply with Company policies
- hourly rate
- for an indefinite term
- Company will provide equipment
- no substitution
In Russian-language contracts
- Исполнитель является плательщиком налога на профессиональный доход
- самостоятельно уплачивает налоги
- не является работником Заказчика
- не подчиняется правилам внутреннего трудового распорядка
- ежемесячная фиксированная оплата
- рабочее место предоставляется Заказчиком
- график работы с 9:00 до 18:00
- бессрочный договор
- должностные обязанности
- обязан лично оказывать услуги
- отпуск по согласованию с Заказчиком
- единственный заказчик
Check your own contract
Paste a clause, a page or the whole document. Nothing leaves your browser: the matching runs here, on this page, against the phrases above.
Why it bites
The worker loses overtime, paid leave, sick pay, unemployment and pension credits (RU: отпуск/больничный/стаж); the hiring SMB faces back taxes, social contributions, penalties and, in RU since 2024-25, referral to межведомственные комиссии and a public реестр of illegal-employment employers; the label does not decide status — the facts do.
Is it enforceable where you are
The same clause can be routine in one country and void in another. What follows is what the law says where you are — not advice on your particular contract.
The rules differ sharply: in Germany and France a post-term non-compete is only valid if the employer pays compensation, in England it must go no further than protecting a legitimate interest, and in the US enforceability is state by state.
United States
Status follows economic-reality (FLSA) or ABC tests (California AB5/Dynamex); the DOL stopped applying its 2024 contractor rule in enforcement in May 2025 but the tests still apply; misclassified workers can file IRS Form SS-8/8919 and claim overtime/benefits; 'work for hire' language makes a contractor an employee for CA workers'-comp (Labor Code 3351.5(c)).
- Cited
- DOL
- FLSA
European Union
Platform Work Directive 2024/2831 introduces a rebuttable presumption of employment (transposition by Dec 2026); Netherlands resumed Wet DBA enforcement Jan 2025; Germany Scheinselbständigkeit triggers retroactive social contributions (§7a SGB IV status procedure).
- Cited
- Directive 2024/283
United Kingdom
Employee/worker status determined by reality, not label (Uber v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5); IR35/off-payroll rules push tax onto the client for 'deemed employees'; Employment Rights Act 2025 reforms and a planned single-worker-status consultation increase risk for engagers.
- Cited
- [2021] UKSC 5
- Employment Rights Act 2025
- Uber v Aslam
Russia
Ст. 19.1 ТК и Пленум ВС № 15/2018 (п. 17-18, 24): неустранимые сомнения толкуются в пользу трудовых отношений; 422-ФЗ ст. 6 п. 8: выплаты бывшему работнику (< 2 лет) не подпадают под НПД; 565-ФЗ (2023): межведомственные комиссии по нелегальной занятости, реестр работодателей с 2025; критерии ФНС — более 10 самозанятых со средним доходом > 20 000 ₽ и сроком > 3 месяцев; штрафы по ст. 5.27 ч. 4 КоАП плюс доначисление НДФЛ и взносов.
- Cited
- 422-ФЗ
- 565-ФЗ
- Пленум ВС № 15/2018
- ст. 5.27 ч. 4 КоАП
- ст. 6 п. 8
Where this has actually happened
Regulator actions, court rulings and the contracts they were fought over.
- Uber BV v Aslam [2021] UKSC 5
- Постановление Пленума ВС РФ от 29.05.2018 № 15, п. 17-18, 24
- Федеральный закон от 12.12.2023 № 565-ФЗ (комиссии по противодействию нелегальной занятости; реестр с 2025)
- California AB5 (2019) / Dynamex (2018) ABC test
What to do
In order, from the thing that takes a minute to the thing that takes a letter.
- For a genuine contractor relationship remove hours/workplace/supervision terms, allow substitution and other clients, pay per deliverable, fix a term
- As the worker keep evidence (schedules, instructions, badges) — it supports reclassification claims for benefits and back pay
- RU: check the 2-year ex-employer rule for самозанятые (422-ФЗ ст. 6 п. 8).
Traps that travel with it
Drafters who use one of these usually use several.