Thriving Beyond Boundaries: Untangling Worker Classifications
The US Department of Labor's "independent contractor" rule, came into effect on March 11, 2024, expanding the criteria for who is an employee rather than an independent contractor.
The EU has also tentatively agreed on the Platform Work Directive, with an aim to improve conditions of gig workers.
Projections indicate that the number of individuals engaged in gig work in the European labor market alone, will increase from 28 million in 2021 to around 43 million in 2025.
UNLEASH is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDC) for SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP recertification activities.
In this UNLEASH webinar, watch Allie Nawrat, Chief Reporter at UNLEASH, speak with Sarelle Buckley, Senior Director of Global Employment Law at Atlas, about untangling worker classifications amid an ever-evolving global regulatory landscape.
This conversation comes hot on the heels of a new US Department of Labor independent contractor rule. Buckley notes this general topic is “employment law 101”, and there are significant employment and tax risks from getting this wrong.
Of course, these risks don’t mean that organizations won’t benefit from having a mix of contractors and employees. For Buckley, having contractors is not necessarily risky, as long as the categorization is correct.
Best HR practices to avoid misclassification risks
After walking through the precise differences between employees and contractors, and the risks involved in detail, Buckley went on to share best practices for organizations to follow. She called on HR to ask questions to hiring managers like “what is this person actually going to be doing? How integrated are they going to be?”
Buckley also recommended that HR teams have a checklist on classification and to keep referring back to it. Atlas and UNLEASH has some resources to help here.
The future of employment law
The webinar discussion then turned to the future of employment laws – the regulatory environment doesn’t sit still, and this is especially true with multiple elections coming up in 2024 (notably in the UK, the US, India and for the EU Parliament).
Buckley talked about a growing intent to legislate, as well as a trend towards enforcement – with the IRIS in the US seeing increased funding – and the impact that may have on employers. “There is a lot of risk associated with this topic so being more intentional is to be advised”, noted Buckley.
Watch now to discover more.
About our Panel:
Sarelle Buckley: Sarelle Buckley is the Senior Director of Global Employment Law at Atlas. Her background has always been in employment law, beginning her career in private practice in the law firm Arthur Cox in Ireland. Since moving in-house and relocating to the U.S., her practice has expanded to global employment law and related compliance matters for private and publicly listed companies. Sarelle brings insight and practical guidance on the evolving legal requirements around engaging employees.