Contracting often gives a worker and an employer flexibility to work when it suits their needs. Contracting appeals to many mature age workers as it gives them the flexibility to balance their work and personal interests or caring responsibilities.
Benefits to employers:
- Flexibility for management to match staff hours with workflow requirements.
- Potential for increased staffing flexibility with trained and experienced staff that could cover temporary vacancies.
- Staff are able to focus on agreed outcomes and deliverables.
- Savings on office space, recruitment and training.
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Benefits to employees:
- Combining work with other responsibilities or interests.
- Managing careers more effectively by using knowledge and expertise but reducing stress and postponing retirement.
- Potential to vary work hours (and earnings) to match other commitments.
- Increased productivity and job satisfaction resulting from greater autonomy.
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Tips for implementing contracting:
Independent contractors (sub-contractors) are not employees. The difference between the two can be complex. Generally, however, independent contractors, unlike employees, tend to run their own business, control the way they work, supply their own tools and are paid upon completion of a job.
The law treats employees and independent contractors differently with respect to taxation, workplace relations, superannuation and workers compensation. All employers must know how the law distinguishes the two and in what context.
The Australian Government has recently passed the Independent Contractors Act 2006 
, which protects the freedom of independent contractors to enter into arrangements that are primarily commercial relationships, free from prescriptive workplace relations regulations.
Read more: Are you an employee or contractor?
Read more: Taxation implications for contractors
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