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Crossing boundaries - employee vs. IC

For those of you who are ICs, have you had any trouble with an employer crossing boundaries and treating you like an employee, or just plain taking advantage of you? Things like mandatory meetings and having non-massage duties (ie, scrubbing walls) added to your roster of responsibilities--but without being paid for any of it?

How many of you have non-massage responsibilities in your IC role as it is, particularly laundry and/or light cleaning duties? Is it specified in your contract or just an expectation of where you work? Do you get paid anything extra for these responsibilities, or is it just expected that you will do this as a "team player"?

I'm especially interested to hear from therapists who live in small towns, where gossip spreads like wildfire and you always seem to run into people when you want to see them the least.

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Permalink Reply by Erica Olson on November 17, 2009 at 11:53am

I don't think it's so much that I don't feel valued as I don't feel anywhere close to equal. I've worked as an IC in other situations (I'm at a salon right now, for example) where I felt considerably more in control than I did at the spa. I'm happy to work as a team player--without pay--if it is presented to me as an optional request rather than a command order--although, really, in a true IC setting, I've found that everyone just pitches in anyway.

However, at the spa, there was no sense of joint business owners under one roof. There was VERY much the feeling of "this is my business, this is how I run it, and you can decide if you want to be here or not."

There were also a number of items on various employee/IC checklists (like the ones Julie linked to) that leaned more towards the employee end of things. From my understanding, the IRS defaults to an employee status, and you have to be very scrupulous about it in order to truly prove yourself as an IC.

Gloria Coppola said:

I agree with Julie!

When I owned my placed and had IC's I didn't "require" them to do these things, we just normally worked as a team to make us all succeed! They wanted to partake in helping in anyway. They knew that it took a lot to run a business and expenses were high. THey were very grateful they had a place to work as an IC (their own business). They got a generous split of the income.

Obviously, I never asked them to deep clean, scrub walls tho. We did all, including me, partake in cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, events, etc. when needed. Our meetings were monthly and they didn't get paid for the time.. We met as business owners within a business (umbrella) to see how we could support each other and grow together. Brainstorming etc.

Smaller run business' often have to operate as a team. MT's who can't afford to start their own business should understand, in my opinion, that this in an opportunity to also learn how to be a business owner.

I would never expect anyone to sit around and not get paid. My IC's were always networking their business. I often hear that IC's expect the business owner to do this all for them. An IC is responsible to manage their business.

As an IC, you are your own business and should not expect the person who provides you a space to do everything. When I worked in other places when I started out, I was glad to help out however I could and never expected things in return. I did my own laundry. Everyone just naturally helped each other.

So glad to hear you quit because it seems like way more was involved than just being expected to deep clean.

Perhaps Julie is correct in feeling it's more about your value?

Good Luck!

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Permalink Reply by Gloria Coppola on November 17, 2009 at 3:28pm

Sounds like you made the right decision to give your notice! The person running this place obviously does not understand a true IC setting - yes where everyone pitches in.

Much Success to you !

Erica Olson said:

I don't think it's so much that I don't feel valued as I don't feel anywhere close to equal. I've worked as an IC in other situations (I'm at a salon right now, for example) where I felt considerably more in control than I did at the spa. I'm happy to work as a team player--without pay--if it is presented to me as an optional request rather than a command order--although, really, in a true IC setting, I've found that everyone just pitches in anyway.

However, at the spa, there was no sense of joint business owners under one roof. There was VERY much the feeling of "this is my business, this is how I run it, and you can decide if you want to be here or not."

There were also a number of items on various employee/IC checklists (like the ones Julie linked to) that leaned more towards the employee end of things. From my understanding, the IRS defaults to an employee status, and you have to be very scrupulous about it in order to truly prove yourself as an IC.

Gloria Coppola said:
I agree with Julie!

When I owned my placed and had IC's I didn't "require" them to do these things, we just normally worked as a team to make us all succeed! They wanted to partake in helping in anyway. They knew that it took a lot to run a business and expenses were high. THey were very grateful they had a place to work as an IC (their own business). They got a generous split of the income.

Obviously, I never asked them to deep clean, scrub walls tho. We did all, including me, partake in cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, events, etc. when needed. Our meetings were monthly and they didn't get paid for the time.. We met as business owners within a business (umbrella) to see how we could support each other and grow together. Brainstorming etc.

Smaller run business' often have to operate as a team. MT's who can't afford to start their own business should understand, in my opinion, that this in an opportunity to also learn how to be a business owner.

I would never expect anyone to sit around and not get paid. My IC's were always networking their business. I often hear that IC's expect the business owner to do this all for them. An IC is responsible to manage their business.

As an IC, you are your own business and should not expect the person who provides you a space to do everything. When I worked in other places when I started out, I was glad to help out however I could and never expected things in return. I did my own laundry. Everyone just naturally helped each other.

So glad to hear you quit because it seems like way more was involved than just being expected to deep clean.

Perhaps Julie is correct in feeling it's more about your value?

Good Luck!