Independent Contractor | Meaning and Definition

What is an Independent Contractor?

One who is a self-employed individual is called an independent contractor. An independent contractor is someone who provides services to an organization or another individual. The independent contractor is referred to as a third party who works with the business but is not employed by a business.

There are many benefits when working as an independent contractor. One can set their own time, rate, as well as availability as a self-employed individual, and they are responsible for their taxes.

When you are an independent contractor, you can work for yourself. But when you are an employee in an organization, you have to work for the organization, and you have to follow certain guidelines mentioned by your organization.

If you are an employee, you have to fill out the application form, and in turn, you will be interviewed by the hiring officer to work with an organization. But in case you are an independent contractor, you can directly communicate with the project manager and follow the procedures like submitting the bid form to get hired.

If you are an employee, you will be allocated benefit packages that include health insurance, insurance policy, and much more. But in the case of independent contractors, there is no such option for those additional benefits; instead, they have to look for such extra expenses of their own (they charge the customers by considering these expenses).

The full-time employees work for an average of 40 hours per week, but as independent contractors, there is no such option for them. They have their own schedule, and they have the right to decide how many hours they can work per day.

The full-time employees had to undergo the training provided by the organization, whereas an independent contractor has to arrange a training session on their own that includes the cost of the training too.