FreelanXEmployee or contractor checklist
Sixteen signals, grouped the way courts and tax authorities read them: control, integration, money and risk, and the relationship. Tick them before you sign a contractor agreement.
Step by step
- 1Answer for the way the work will really be done, not for what the contract will say.
- 2Unticked boxes are risk signals: change the setup or choose another model.
- 3Run the misclassification check for the country of the person.
Watch-outs
What changes from one country to another, with the legal source.
ABC test: all three conditions must be met for a contractor.
California Labor Code § 2775Under the FLSA, courts apply an economic reality test. Since 1 May 2025 the Department of Labor no longer applies its 2024 rule (29 C.F.R. Part 795) in investigations and uses Fact Sheet #13 (2008) and opinion letter FLSA2019-6; the IRS looks at behavioural, financial and relationship control.
US DOL, Field Assistance Bulletin 2025-1; IRS Publication 15-A; Linklaters, 21 May 2025Control, personal service and mutuality of obligation are the core tests; off-payroll rules move the decision to medium and large clients.
Ready Mixed Concrete v Minister of Pensions [1968]; ITEPA 2003 Part 2 Ch 10Instruction-bound work and integration into the client's organisation mean employment.
SGB IV § 7(1)Permanent legal subordination re-qualifies the contract, whatever the registration of the contractor.
Code du travail L8221-6; Cass. soc., 13 November 1996 (Société Générale)Wet DBA enforcement resumed in 2025; authority and integration are key.
Belastingdienst, 2025The whole relationship, including how it works in practice, decides.
Fair Work Act 2009, s 15AASubordination, personal service, regularity and pay define the employee.
CLT, art. 3Legal references checked on 15 Oct 2026. Rules change: check the source before you rely on it.
Questions people ask
Is there one test for every country?
No. The signals are similar, but each country weighs them differently. The misclassification check covers the main countries.
What if the answer is unclear?
Choose the safer setup: FreelanX EOR employs the person; FreelanX Contractors+ makes FreelanX the contractor of record.
Is it free?
Yes. Every template is free to read and copy: no sign-up, no email, no download.
Do I need it on FreelanX?
On FreelanX missions, the contract is created from the brief and signed online, payments are held by FreelanX and released per approved milestone, and invoices are issued automatically. Templates help for work agreed elsewhere, or to prepare a conversation.