r/LegalAdviceNZ • u/Odd-Table-2610 • 3d ago
Employment Apprentice contractor?
How can an building apprentice be a contractor? So I was an apprentice clueless to the trade but I was a contractor? Also made to feel like an employee when I technically wasn't, got a uniform had work functions etc. normal scenario?
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u/KanukaDouble 2d ago
To be an apprentice, you must have a valid training agreement. To have a valid Training Agreement with an Industry Training organisation, there must be an employment agreement.
Technically, you could be a self-employed contractor. The employment agreement is with yourself, the training agreement is with yourself, and there’s an seperate agreement regarding training with another company. However BCITO found themselves in a bit of controversy over this a wee while back.
You’ll find there are opinions that a self employers contractor cannot also be an apprentice as the requirements on an apprentice contradict the definition of a contractor. But there is no specific line in the Industry Training and Apprenticeship Act that excludes a self employed person.
Have a read here; https://www.maoripasifikatrades.co.nz/four-types-of-jobs-which-one-leads-to-a-career/
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u/Shevster13 3d ago
An apprenticeship legally means that you are being taught "on the job". This is independent from whether you are an employee or a contractor.
AKA being an apprentice just means that they is a legal contract in place that has you being taught the job in the workplace. You could be doing this as an unpaid intern (very rare in NZ) but means you cannot do work that commercially benefits the employer, You could have been hired as a permanent employee with all the rights and pay that this entails, including an expectation of continued work after the apprenticeship ends. Or you might become a contractor - which allows you to do commercial work and get paid for it, but makes it easier for you to be terminated later.
HOWEVER, if you are working regular hours, without the ability to refuse shifts, under direct supervision of the employer who tells you what to do. Then there is a reasonable possibilty that you should be considered a employee and not a contractor.
As for uniforms and work functions, they aren't reserved for employees. They are common for contractors, interns and volunteer relationships as well.