Who is my employer?

This can be a very confusing subject for a lot of contractors placed by an agency, but generaly the way to think of it is that you are employed by the agency and placed on client site as a consultant. The agency charges the client consulting fees and pays the contractor a salary, based on an hourly or daily rate.

A lot of the time the questions comes up when contractors are considering getting home loans of finance. In these cases your employer is the entity that pays you - generally this will either be the agency that placed you or a contractor management company.

If you need a letter of employment or confirmation of earnings your first port of call should be the agency. They should be able to provide you with all the information that you need or will be able to coordinate the collation of information for you.

Although the agency is ultimately your employer, your day to day work and tasks are managed by the client and you report to the client's on-site managers.

However should performance disputes arise, the agency may get involved. Because you are consulting on behalf of the agency they are well within their rights to talk to you about conduct or performance.