Tool · Contractor Classification Calculator · Coming soon
Where the contractor model breaks.
The full Contractor Classification Calculator — per-engagement scoring against the local test, back-tax exposure projection, and the EOR fallback cost modelled at both the Fixed Rate and the Regional Rate — ships post-launch. The country-level risk indicators below show today's regulatory posture. For a per-engagement review, book a working session.
When does using contractors instead of employees become a legal exposure?
When the working relationship — hours, integration into the team, exclusivity, length of engagement, provision of tools — meets the local legal test for employment. Strict jurisdictions (UK, DE, FR, NL, ES) backdate liability for employer contributions, unpaid leave, and severance up to 4–5 years. The exposure typically dwarfs the cost of moving the engagement to EOR before the classification is challenged.
What is Contractor misclassification?
The legal reclassification of an independent-contractor engagement as an employment relationship by a tax authority, labour court, or social-security body. Triggers depend on jurisdiction but commonly include: control over working hours and methods, integration into the team, exclusivity (the contractor cannot freely take other clients), provision of tools and equipment by the engager, length and continuity of engagement, and economic dependence. Reclassification creates retroactive employer-side liability for statutory contributions, unpaid statutory leave, severance, and in some jurisdictions criminal penalties.
Country-level classification posture (2026)
- United Kingdom
- IR35 / off-payroll working — engager-side responsibility since 2021Source: HMRC ESM10000 series · Off-payroll working manual· verified 2026-05-12
- Germany
- Scheinselbständigkeit — Deutsche Rentenversicherung audits backdate liability up to 4 yearsSource: Deutsche Rentenversicherung §7 SGB IV· verified 2026-05-12
- France
- Requalification du contrat — URSSAF + labour court can reclassify; presumption favours salariatSource: URSSAF · Code du travail L8221-6· verified 2026-05-12
- Netherlands
- Wet DBA enforcement resumed 2026 — handhavingsmoratorium ended; VBAR transition activeSource: Belastingdienst · Wet DBA / VBAR· verified 2026-05-12
- Spain
- Riders Law (2021) + Supreme Court rulings — platform-economy precedent extending to traditional contractorsSource: Real Decreto-ley 9/2021 · Tribunal Supremo· verified 2026-05-12
- Italy
- Co.co.co. + parasubordinato — Decreto Dignità tightened conversion thresholdsSource: Decreto Legge 87/2018 · INPS· verified 2026-05-12
Have a contractor base you're not sure is defensible?
Tell us the country, the engagement pattern (hours, length, exclusivity), and the number of contractors. A Teamed jurisdiction specialist will return a per-engagement classification view within 48 hours, with the EOR fallback cost modelled at both the Fixed Rate and the Regional Rate. No sales call required for the analysis itself.
Request a per-engagement reviewFrequently asked questions
Are we at misclassification risk on this engagement?
You probably are if you have contractors who hit any of these: (1) work full-time hours for your business, (2) have been engaged longer than 12 months, (3) can't freely take other clients, (4) use your tools / brand / email, or (5) report to a manager on your team. Any one of those flags pushes the classification test into employee territory in most strict jurisdictions (UK, DE, FR, NL, ES). The country indicators above show the regulatory posture; the actual classification test is engagement-specific. Request a per-engagement review via the working-session CTA — turnaround within 48 hours with the EOR fallback cost modelled.What happens if a contractor we're engaging gets reclassified as an employee?
You become liable retroactively. When a tax authority, labour court, or social-security body reclassifies a contractor as an employee, the engager owes: (1) back-dated employer statutory contributions (social security, pension, unemployment — 11% in Ireland to 42% in France of the gross contract rate); (2) unpaid statutory leave entitlements (annual leave accrued, public holidays); (3) severance the employee would have been entitled to if employed throughout; (4) in some jurisdictions (France, Germany, Spain) criminal penalties for the entity and its directors. The exposure compounds with the length of the engagement. Most strict jurisdictions look back 3–5 years.How do I move an at-risk contractor onto an EOR without losing them?
Same person, new employment structure, no disruption to working relationship. The conversion: (1) Teamed drafts a local-jurisdiction employment contract that mirrors the existing scope; (2) the contractor signs as an EOR employee with start date typically aligned to a clean month boundary; (3) the contractor relationship ends on the day the employment relationship starts; (4) the new employer (Teamed) takes over statutory compliance, payroll, benefits. The all-in uplift on the original contractor rate is typically 25–55% (employer statutory contributions + EOR fee + expected benefits). Almost always lower than the back-tax + back-leave + severance exposure if a reclassification challenge lands.