Contracting with Younity.

WHAT IS CONTRACTING?

BEING A CONTRACTOR MEANS THAT YOU ARE:

• Self-employed, primarily as a business of one person
• Are able to choose the work you do, sometimes including how, where & when
• Engaged on a ‘Contract for Services’ with your agency and/or your client
• Are responsible for all your own tax and statutory obligations (including ACC & GST)
• Paid an agreed Hourly or Daily Rate

A contract can be as short as a couple of weeks or could last for several years depending on the project. Typically, most contracts that Younity recruit are generally for periods in either 3, 6 or 12 month blocks. After the initial contract term, a good contractor will often be offered contract extensions, should the client have work available. As a contractor, you’re fully self-employed and your mindset needs to shift from that of an employee, to thinking of yourself as a business of one. You can work as either a sole trader or set up your own limited liability company to work through. You’ll be paid an agreed hourly or daily rate plus GST (Goods & Services Tax). We recommend that you talk to an accountant or an independent financial advisor if you need advice or have questions about setting yourself up as a contractor & deciding on the what the best structure is for you.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

SETTING UP AS A CONTRACTOR

Becoming a contractor means being self-employed so it’s your choice as to how you best structure your affairs. Some people choose to set themselves up as a sole trader, while others prefer to set up their own limited liability company. If you’re completely new to contracting and just dipping your toe in the water, there are experts who can look after the whole set up process and give you the best advice. If unsure, get in touch with us and we can connect you with someone who is qualified to give you the right information.

When working as a contractor, you are representing both yourself and Younity when you’re at work on client site. Therefore, you must act appropriately and conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times. Your contract rate will be set at either an agreed hourly or a daily rate. This will be determined by negotiation between you, Younity and client with whom you’ll be working with, prior to the engagement commencing. We take care of all the paperwork and ensure that we provide you with the best care and attention throughout the life of your contract assignment.

TAX OBLIGATIONS

As a self-employed contractor, you must take responsibility for all your tax obligations, including paying income tax, GST and ACC levies and making sure that all your returns are filed with the IRD on time.

If you are a self-employed contractor and earn over $60,000 per annum, then you are required to be registered for GST. We pay you GST on top of the hourly or daily rate, but we can only do this if you’re GST registered and provide us with your GST number.

Since April 2017, by law, all labour-hire organisations such as Younity are required to take a percentage of your earnings as Withholding Tax, paying it directly to the IRD.

This is covered under the term ‘Schedular Payments’. The level of tax deducted by Younity is determined by the rate you stipulate on an IR330C form which we supply to you on placement. If you fill in the form but don’t stipulate a deduction percentage, then we are required to take 20% tax as part of our legal obligations. If you don’t fill in a form, then we are required to deduct the no-notification rate of 45%, so it’s worthwhile checking that your IR330C form is filled in correctly. If you feel you have reasonable cause, you can apply to the IRD for an exemption from Schedular Tax, so you’ll need to fill in a form called the IR23BS and provide the exemption certificate to us.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

All contractors are required to hold Public Indemnity (PI) and Professional Liability (PL) insurance cover before starting any engagement on a client’s site. This keeps you protected from being taken to court in the event of a major error, omission or negligence claim. You can either take advantage of Younity’s own insurance policy, which provides cover of $10 million for PI and PL, or you choose to take out your own insurance cover. The advantages of taking Younity’s insurance include the high level of coverage, the fact we hold this cover on an enduring basis and that you only pay insurance for the hours or days worked.

If you choose to take out your own cover, then we require that you arrange a minimum levels of cover defined as being $2 million for both Professional Indemnity and Public Liability.

If a client requires a higher rate of cover then you must ensure that your own cover matches their minimum requirements – we’ll advise you of this. If you do take out your own insurance, then you must send us a copy of the certificate prior to starting your role and ensure that the insurance is kept up-to-date with new certificates are sent through to us as they extend. It is recommended that you keep insurance cover for seven years following the end of a contract.

HEALTH & SAFETY OBLIGATIONS

At Younity, we take our responsibilities towards Workplace Health & Safety (WH&S) very seriously and are fully compliant with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015. All contractors who work for Younity are required to complete an online health and safety induction prior to commencing any contract. If you haven’t completed one in the previous two years, you need to agree to and sign the Younity Health and Safety Policy. As a self-employed contractor you are also defined a PCBU (a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking) and you should also have your own H&S policies and processes in place. In your first week contracting at an organisation, you should receive a health & safety induction by the client for their site and circumstances.

You must follow all of the client’s policies and procedures with regards to Health & Safety at all times. If for any reason you have a Health & Safety concerns at any time during the life of your contract, we require you to contact us as soon as practicable so we can help address the issue in a timely fashion.

TIMESHEETS & PAYROLL

Younity use timesheet & payroll systems called Flexitime & Invoxy. As a contractor, you’re required to complete timesheets on a weekly basis, then submit them to Younity so they can be authorised by your hiring manager. Flexitime & Invoxy are simple, easy to use systems which can be completed with only a few keystrokes. Prior to commencing any contract, we’ll send you all the relevant links and instructions around how to use these products. Note that your timesheets also act as your invoices to us. From these, we create a Buyer-Created Tax Invoices (BCTI’s) which you can access through Flexitime & Invoxy and use for all your relevant accounting purposes.

We are proactive in chasing all missing timesheets, but please be aware that any late timesheets at the end of any month can result in you missing a pay-cycle. So please ensure that you remain organised and complete your timesheets promptly. Notify us if your approving manager is away or unavailable or let us know as soon as possible if you’re experiencing any problems! We want to make the process of timesheets, invoicing and being paid as easy as possible for you.

We pay our contractors on a monthly basis and take all our information on the hours or days worked from approved timesheets. Please ensure your timesheets are submitted accurately on time, especially around public holidays.

A month for us runs through to the last Friday of every month. It is a mix of four-week and five-week months (generally in a quarter there are two four-week months and one five-week month). You will be sent Younity’s payment schedule when you sign your contract, so you have full transparency around payment timings and can organise your personal payments around them.

GETTING STARTED

Younity are highly skilled in finding people great contracting opportunities with our clients right across New Zealand. Our team has built partnerships over many years with professional contractors who are specialists in the technology, digital & business transformation domains, and provided them with multiple project assignments. Many keep returning to us to find their next gig. Similarly, we’ve helped many people embark on the journey into contracting, placing many into their first few engagements and helping them along the path.

No matter how long you’ve been contracting for, even if it is your first time, Younity can help secure your next opportunity.

If you’ve got any further questions about contracting with Younity, then don’t hesitate to contact our team by emailing us at info@younity.co.nz. We’ll be happy to answer any of your queries.

For more, check out this comprehensive guide to contracting on the Business New Zealand website: https://www.business.govt.nz/going-contracting/