Employment vs. Contracted Services Questionnaire
THIS FORM MUST BE COMPLETED BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE WORK ENGAGEMENT
Purpose and use of this form: The purpose of this Questionnaire is to provide assistance in determining
the income tax status of a prospective service provider as it relates to the work engagement described
below. A new Questionnaire must be completed when changes are made to the terms and conditions of
the engagement. The term “individual” means the proposed service provider and includes a proprietor
of a non-incorporated business.
Contact Information:
Name of individual (or non-incorporated business if applicable):
Initiating U of S department:
U of S department contact:
Phone number:
Expected duration of work engagement including start and end dates:
Estimated value of work engagement:
(Note: If there is a chance the value of the engagement will exceed $5,000,
contact Purchasing Services before completing this questionnaire.)
Work engagement (describe below):
Section A: If the individual is a current University of Saskatchewan employee, complete
this section and contact your Human Resources Analyst before proceeding any further;
otherwise go directly to Section B.
Job Title:
Home department:
University Employee ID number:
Yes
No
A.1 Is the work engagement (described above) the same work the employee is expected to perform
under his/her regular university terms and conditions of employment? If yes, the payment must
be employment income and this Questionnaire is not required. If no, Human Resources must be
satisfied that the work should not be compensated at overtime rates and that the work will be
carried on outside of the individual’s normal hours of employment.
A.2 Is the individual a permanent employee?
A.3 Is the individual a full-time employee (FTE=1.0)? If not, indicate the individual’s FTE equivalent:
FTE.
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Section B:
Yes
No
Yes
No
B.1 Is the work currently provided by, or has it traditionally been provided by, a university
employee(s)? If yes, go to question #B.4. If no, go to Section C.
B.2 Is the work in contravention of the contracting out provisions of any existing collective
agreements? If yes, the payment must be employment income and this Questionnaire is not
required. If no, go to the next question.
B.3 Is the work arrangement sufficiently different from the terms and conditions of employment of
current or former university employees that perform(ed) similar work? If yes, go to Section C. If
no, the payment must be employment income and this Questionnaire is not required.
B.4 Does the individual expect to be eligible for benefits under the EI program (including maternity
and parental benefits)? If yes, the payment must be employment income and this Questionnaire is
not required. If no, go to the next question.
Section C:
C.1 Does the university set work priorities for the individual?
C.2 Does the university establish the work location and/or the days and hours of work?
C.3 Must the university approve absences for personal appointments and/or is vacation taken?
C.4 Does the university set out the direction on how the work is performed?
C.5 Does the university provide one or more of the following services/items: telephone, office space,
computer or other equipment, office supplies, training, delivery, shipping costs, insurance or other
goods and services? If the university charges the individual for these costs, check ‘no’ column;
otherwise check ‘yes’ column.
List services/items provided where no charge is made:
a)
C.6 Does the university provide/assign the individual a university email address?
C.7 Is the individual prohibited from sub-contracting?
C.8 Is the individual prohibited from hiring assistants?
C.9 Is the university the individual’s sole client?
C.10 Is the individual hired to complete ongoing tasks (as opposed to completing a specific project)?
C.11 Does the individual require permission to work for another payor?
C.12 If mistakes are made, is it the responsibility of the university to cover any additional costs
required to fix the mistake? (If the individual warrants their work – check ‘no’).
C.13 Is the individual a former employee of the university?
Analysis:
The arrangement is employment if 50% or more of the responses in Section C are ‘Yes”. Otherwise, the
arrangement may be set up as a contracted service, pending Purchasing Services’ confirmation of the
department’s determination, which is required if the estimated value of the work engagement is $1,000 or
more.
Department’s determination, mark ‘X’ in the applicable box:
Employment
or
Contracted Service
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Certification Page
To be completed and forwarded, along with pages 1 and 2 of the Questionnaire, to Purchasing
Services (Room E150, Administration Building) if the estimated value of the work engagement is
$1,000 or more.
(Note: When requisitioning a payment to an individual for contracts less than $1,000,
departments still must submit this completed and signed Certification Page to Payroll, Room
E70, Administration Building. Payments to a business must be made through the purchase
order system (See “Procedures,” page 4.)
CERTIFICATION:
Please note that failure to disclose accurate information, when completing the above Questionnaire,
may require an alteration of the previously determined arrangement, up to and including the
immediate termination of the above work engagement.
By, or on behalf of, the department head/administrator:
I, _______________________________, certify to the best of my knowledge that the above information is
true, correct and complete in every respect and that I have read the Employment vs. Contracted Services
Guidelines and that I am satisfied that the above engagement is properly arranged under an agreement
to retain an independent contractor.
Per:
___________________
Date:
Purchasing Services’ Review:
Agrees with the department’s determination
Disagrees with the department’s determination
Date sent to Manager, Taxation:
Signature
Date
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Procedures - Employment
Before completing the Employment vs. Contracted Services Questionnaire, departments may
want to contact their Human Resource Analyst about the process for hiring casual/short-term
employees. Contact information for Human Resources Analysts is available on the Human
Resources website at: http://working.usask.ca/contact/index.php
Where the arrangement is determined to be employment, university hiring procedures apply.
Procedures - Independent Contractor
1) All pages of the completed Questionnaire, including the Certification Page, must be
forwarded to Purchasing Services to review the department’s determination, if the
estimated value of the work engagement is $1,000 or more. If Purchasing Services agrees
with the department’s determination, the Questionnaire will be returned to the
department, which will keep the completed Questionnaire on file.
2) If the estimated value of the work engagement is less than $1,000, departments will keep
the completed Questionnaire on file with the exception that, if it was determined that the
contracted service is with an individual, departments will need to submit a copy of the
signed Certification Page of the Questionnaire to Payroll, along with the Service Income
Requisition, when requisitioning a payment
If it was agreed that the services can be secured under a contract to retain an independent
contractor, normal procurement policies and procedures apply based on the value of the
services being provided. Further guidance is provided on the Financial Service Division’s website
under “Contracting for Services Guideline” at
http://www.usask.ca/fsd/resources/guidelines/employment_vs_contracted_services_guidelines
.php
The thresholds (e.g. greater than $50,000, greater than $5,000 and up to $5,000) and the
contracting processes listed under “Incorporated Businesses/Limited Companies1 in the
Contracting for Services Guideline” also apply to non-incorporated businesses and individuals.
A purchase requisition must be created when contracting with a non-incorporated business, so
Purchasing Services can set up a purchase order. Contact the UniFi help desk at 966-8783 for
assistance in creating purchase requisitions.
Purchase requisitions/purchase orders are not issued when contracting with an individual.
If the department cannot make the determination, or if Purchasing Services (in consultation
with Human Resources) does not agree with the department’s determination, Purchasing
Services will forward the Questionnaire to the Manager, Taxation.
1
Generally an incorporated business/limited company’s name ends in “LTD.” or “INC.” or “CORP.”
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