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The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of a lawyer or you may directly contact and consult Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices to address your specific legal concerns, if there is any.
Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
An independent contractor is one who carries a distinct and independent business and undertakes to perform the job, work, or service on its own account and under one’s own responsibility according to one’s manner and method, free from the control and direction of the principal in all matters connected with the performance of the work except as to the results thereof.
In the case of Ditiangkin et al. v. Lazada E-services Philippines, Inc., G.R. No. 246892, September 21, 2022, the Supreme Court held that our laws and jurisprudence recognize two types of contractors: legitimate job contractors and independent contractors who possess unique skills and talent.
The second type of independent contractor consists of individuals who possess unique skills and talents which set them apart from ordinary employees and whose means and methods of work are free from the control of the employer.
Examples can include a columnist who was hired because of her talent, skill, experience, and feminist standpoint, a basketball referee who has special skills and independent judgment, and a masiador or sentenciador, who has expertise in cockfighting gambling. In these instances, there is no trilateral relationship but a bilateral relationship because the independent contractors are directly engaged by the principal.
There is no employer-employee relationship between an independent contractor and the principal, and their contracts are governed by the Civil Code. When the status of the employment is in dispute, the employer bears the burden to prove that the workers are independent contractors rather than regular employees.
Furthermore, in ABS-CBN Corporation v. Concepcion, G.R. No. 230576, October 5, 2020, the Supreme Court held that an independent contractor enjoys independence and freedom from the control and supervision of his principal. This is opposed to an employee who is subject to the employer’s power to control the means and methods by which the employee’s work is to be performed and accomplished.
Related Articles:
- What is the difference between employees and independent contractors?
- How much is the substantial capital or investment required to become a legitimate subcontractor?
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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 09175772207/ 09778050020.
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