Is Abacus an employee or an independent contractor?
Alberta, Canada
The following excerpt is from Thorne Riddell Inc. v. Rolfe, 1982 CanLII 1219 (AB QB):
In my respectful opinion, based on the contracts entered into and the nature of the project entered into, Abacus might be best classified as an independent contractor. It was not subject to control as to the details of the work to be performed. It was not engaged in a master-and-servant relationship. I see little difference between the position of Abacus and that of a home builder who is employed “merely to accomplish certain results and is not otherwise subject to his employer’s control in the manner of performance” (Sell on Agency (1975), p. 16), See Dumas v. Lloyd (1972), 6 III. App. (3d) 1,026, 286 N.E. (2d) 566: When one undertakes to produce a given result without being in any way controlled as to method used, he is considered an “independent contractor” and not an “employee”.
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