What is an Independent contractor agreement?

An Independent Contractor Agreement is a written contract between a professional service provider and a client that describes certain details that need to be agreed upon before work commences. As a result, some of the common details that are included in an independent contractor agreement include:

• The services that are being provided
• The contractor’s and client’s business and contact information
• Billing details (such as hourly rates, retainer fees, late fees, and payment dates)
• Other terms including the contract period or claims to intellectual property.

Time to download – and handle compliance with ease, everytime

Creating an Independent contractor agreement is one of the more time-consuming aspects of the HR function. Therefore many business owners and professionals ask the question, “Is it accurate?” “Does it comply with a maze of law and compliance?” “Has an important clause been missed?” Errr!

Because of this, Worknice has surfaced a range of downloadable sample employment contracts for you to use – Created by Source HR.

Need more than an independent contractor agreement template?

Templates a good, but they don’t harness the power of modern HR technology like Worknice. For example, Worknice eliminates the stress of compliance by reducing manual admin and streamlining process.

What types of independent contractor agreements are available to download?

1. Independent contractor agreement (sole trader)
2. Independent contractor agreement (Pty Ltd company)
3. 1-page independent contractor agreement

What are alternate names of an independent contractor agreement?

There are quite a number of varying names used interchangeably for the independent contractor agreement and all of them essentially mean the same thing. For instance:

• Consulting Agreement
• Consultant Contract
• Freelance Contract
• Service Agreement
• Finally, Subcontractor Agreement

Who can use an Independent Contractor Agreement?

You can use Worknice’s independent contractor agreement templates if you are a contractor, subcontractor, or client who wants to document the terms of an engagement.

An independent contractor: An independent contractor, otherwise known as a freelancer or consultant, is a business or self-employed individual that provides services as required by a client in exchange for payment.

A subcontractor: A subcontractor is an independent contractor hired by another independent contractor to help complete a project, often to perform a discrete or specialised task.

A client: A client is the business that is hiring and paying for services provided by the contractor.

What is the difference between an employee and an independent contractor?

An employee and an independent contractor are both paid for their service, however there are some key differences between the two. As a result we will touch on those differences below, which include taxes and superannuation, rights, responsibilities, payment terms, and the duration of employment.

Employee

• Taxes and superannuation: income tax is deducted from an employee’s wage, and the employer also contributes to a superannuation fund for the employee
• Rights: entitled to pay obligations such as paid leave, minimum wage, and more
• Responsibilities: typically works a set number of hours and uses tools/equipment supplied by the employer
• Payment terms: paid a set wage at regular intervals (weekly, fortnightly, or monthly)
• Duration of employment: has indefinite employment status, whether full-time or part-time

Independent contractor

• Taxes and superannuation: typically pays their own taxes, GST, and superannuation, unless otherwise specified in an agreement
• Rights: not entitled to paid leave or minimum wage (unless established in an agreement), but is paid an hourly rate or flat fee
• Responsibilities: decides how many hours are required to complete the job and uses their own tools/equipment
• Payment terms: establishes payment amount, method, and dates with an agreement
• Duration of employment: hired for a set time period.

Ditch the PDFs! Manage your independent contractor agreement templates in Worknice

Sure you can download these templates, but wouldn’t you prefer to set them up once, do it right, and layer on process so you don’t have to worry about it again? Get Worknice!

Streamline the onboarding process

• E-signature – Send contracts, offers, and documentation for review and sign off.
• Automate the day one set up – trigger actions upon contract sign-off
• Smart docs – add in dynamic fields so there is no manual data input for information like [first name] or [position]

Create an exceptional first impression to new starters

• 100% convenience – Mobile-first, amazing UI, and everything new hires need in the one spot.

Ensure compliance with our smart form library

• Smart, compliant contracts out of the box – choose from a pre-populated library or create something new.
• Automated tasks – ensure compliance activities get done.

What’s included is the bundle?

Included in the bundle are over 60 free and curated human resources templates ready to use in your business. Included in the bundle is;

Need more than a template?

Templates a good, but they don’t harness the power of modern HR technology like Worknice. Worknice eliminates the stress of compliance by reducing manual admin and streamlining process.

Why is it worth downloading these free human resources templates?

Ditch the PDFs! Manage your documentation in Worknice

Sure you can download these templates, but wouldn’t you prefer to set them up once, do it right, and layer on process so you don’t have to worry about it again? Get Worknice!

Streamline process

• E-signature – Send contracts, offers, and documentation for review and sign off.
• Automate the day one set up – trigger actions upon contract sign-off
• Smart docs – add in dynamic fields so there is no manual data input for information like [first name] or [position]

Ignite culture in hybrid workplaces

• 100% convenience – Mobile-first, amazing UI, and everything new hires need in the one spot.

Ensure compliance with our smart form library

• Smart, compliant contracts out of the box – choose from a pre-populated library or create something new.
• Automated tasks – ensure compliance activities get done.

Full list of inclusions

Note – we are working on it! All the contracts and policies are available. As more of the other templates come available, we will send them on to you.

Employment contracts – large employers and senior employees

1. Employment contract for large employers or senior employees (full-time/part-time)
2. Employment contract for large employers or senior employees (fixed term)
3. Employment contract for large employers or senior employees (casual)

Employment contracts – small and medium size businesses

4. Employment contract for small and medium size businesses (full-time/part-time)
5. Employment contract for small and medium size businesses (fixed term)
6. Employment contract for small and medium size businesses (casual)

1-page employment contracts

7. 1-page employment contract (full-time/part-time/fixed term)
8. 1-page employment contract (casual)

Independent contractor agreements

9. Independent contractor agreement (sole trader)
10. Independent contractor agreement (Pty Ltd company)
11. 1-page independent contractor agreement

Workplace policies

12. Bullying, discrimination and harassment policy
13. Code of conduct policy
14. Drug, alcohol and smoking policy
15. Flexible work arrangements policy
16. IT use policy
17. Leave policy
18. Social media policy
19. Vehicle use policy
20. Work health and safety policy
21. Working from home policy
22. Workplace surveillance notice and computer surveillance policy

Onboarding

23. Onboarding and development map
24. Employee induction process
25. New employee details form
26. Fair Work information statement
27. Superannuation standard choice form
28. Tax file number declaration form
29. Notification of casual conversion provisions
30. New starter action plan

Probation and performance review

31. 3-month probationary review form
32. 5-month probationary review form
33. Letter informing employee of unsuccessful completion of probationary period 
34. Letter informing employee of successful completion of probationary period 
35. Annual performance review form
36. Annual performance review – manager guidelines

Performance management

37. Letter inviting employee to performance management meeting
38. Performance improvement plan
39. First warning letter about performance
40. Second warning letter about performance
41. Final warning letter about performance
42. Termination letter for performance reasons

Managing misconduct

43. Letter inviting employee to meeting about misconduct
44. Outcome letter after meeting about misconduct
45. Termination for misconduct (not serious misconduct)
46. Termination letter for serious misconduct

Redundancy

47. Invitation to consultation meeting about redundancy
48. Termination letter for redundancy

Offboarding

49. Employee exit process
50. Letter to leaving employee about their ongoing obligations

Deeds and agreements

51. Agreement to cash out annual leave
52. Agreement to take annual leave in advance
53. Individual flexibility agreement
54. Confidentiality deed
55. Agreement to repay training costs
56. Repayment agreement (by deduction)
57. Repayment agreement (no deductions)
58. Deed of termination
59. Deed of release (short form)
60. Deed of release (long form)
61. Deed of settlement of legal proceedings

What is an employee onboarding process?

An employee onboarding process refers to the steps to integrate a new employee into a company and its culture. This process also contributes to getting a new hire the tools and information needed to become a productive member of the team.

This process is most effective when mapped out and digitised into software. By doing this, you will be able to create a scalable pre-boarding & employee onboarding experience that eliminate paperwork and manual process. This in turn improves compliance accuracy, process efficiency, and reporting. 

Need more than a free template?

Templates a handy, but they don’t harness the power of modern HR technology like Worknice. Worknice eliminates the stress of compliance by reducing manual admin and streamlining process.

Why is this free onboarding process map template worth downloading?

What is an employment contract?

An Employment Contract is a legal document used to establish the rights, responsibilities, and obligations of a working relationship between an employer and an employee.

Time to download – and handle compliance with ease, everytime

Creating an employment contract for new hires is one of the most time-consuming aspects of the HR function. Is it the right employee contract? Does it comply with a maze of law and compliance? Has an important clause been missed? Errr!

The good news is that Worknice has surfaced a range of downloadable sample employment contracts for you to use – Created by Source HR.

Need more than a free employment contract template?

Templates a good, but they don’t harness the power of modern HR technology like Worknice. Worknice eliminates the stress of compliance by reducing manual admin and streamlining process.

What types of sample employment contracts are available to download?

Sample employment contracts for large employers and senior employees

There are three employment contracts to pick from:

• Full Time/ Part-Time Employment contract for large employers or senior employees
• Fixed term Employment contract for large employers or senior employees
• Casual Employment contract for large employers or senior employees

Sample employment contracts for small and medium size businesses

There are three employment contracts to pick from:

• Full Time/ Part-Time Employment contract for small and medium size businesses
• Fixed term Employment contract for small and medium size businesses
• Casual Employment contract for small and medium size businesses

1-page employment contracts

There are two employment contracts to pick from:

• Full Time/ Part-Time / fixed term 1-page employment contract 
• Casual 1-page employment contract 

So what are you waiting for? Download the sample employment contract form you need, and let’s move on to some of the entitlements you will need to consider before it can be used. 

Decide on employment contract entitlements:

Next step – add in your employment contract entitlements! The changes  that are made will be based on whether the employment contract is full-time, part-time or casual. Common employment contract entitlements include:

• pay
• hours of work
• shift penalties
• loadings
• leave entitlements and
• notice of termination.

Time to craft your letter of engagement

Creating a letter of engagement is time-consuming at best. For this reason, starting from a template is a great way to save time creating letters of engagement.

Your letter of engagement must address all the criteria listed above. Your new hire must be aware of all the entitlements in their employment contract before they can accept the offer.

The Fair Work Australia template library is a great place to start.

You can create a template that is unique for each type of employment contract, or each function of your business.

Common things to add to a letter of engagement

• the letterhead
• date
• position title
• employer name
• location
• award name
• enterprise agreement name
• hourly rate
• weekly/fortnightly/monthly income
• your contact name
• your phone number

Sample table of contents from our employment contract templates

• Employment details
• Start date
• Probationary period
• Your position
• Reporting line
• Hours of work
• Base salary
• Superannuation
• Place of work
• Repayment of amounts owed
• Performance review
• Working for the Employer
• Taking leave
• Reimbursement of expenses
• Workplace policies
• Health and safety
• Medical examinations
• Suspension
• Login details and password
• Monitoring use of information technology
• Personal information
• Protecting the business of the Employer and Group Companies
• Books and records
• Protecting intellectual property
• Termination of your employment
• Return of property and confidential information
• Post-employment restrictions
• Repayment of amounts owed on termination
• Warranties by you to the Employer
• Limitation on claims for damages
• Waiver
• Group Companies
• Entire agreement
• Changes to your employment and this agreement
• Applicable law
• Fair Work Information Statement

Ditch the PDFs! Manage your employment contract templates in Worknice

Sure you can download these templates, but wouldn’t you prefer to set them up once, do it right, and layer on process so you don’t have to worry about it again? Get Worknice!

Streamline the onboarding process

• E-signature – Send contracts, offers, and documentation for review and sign off.
• Automate the day one set up – trigger actions upon contract sign-off
• Smart docs – add in dynamic fields so there is no manual data input for information like [first name] or [position]

Create an exceptional first impression to new starters

• 100% convenience – Mobile-first, amazing UI, and everything new hires need in the one spot.

Ensure compliance with our smart form library

• Smart, compliant contracts out of the box – choose from a pre-populated library or create something new.
• Automated tasks – ensure compliance activities get done.

This downloadable and free employee onboarding checklist template is designed to help employers get prepared in the lead up to an employee’s first day at work. It includes many of the key tasks to complete and documents to prepare before their arrival.

However, being a manual checklist it doesn’t include any of the really cool technology features that are designed to save you time, ensure compliance and create an ‘instagrammable’ first impression. In order to do that you’ll need to check out Worknice’s employee onboarding software.

Time to download – streamline your onboarding process while ensuring compliance

Much of the template can be viewed below, but to take it with you, download your free template now:

Need more than an employee onboarding checklist template?

Templates a good, but they don’t harness the power of modern HR technology like Worknice. Worknice eliminates the stress of compliance by reducing manual admin and streamlining process.

Why is this free onboarding checklist template worth downloading?

Why is an employee onboarding checklist important?

To be organised. With average employee lifecycles on the decline, a well-structured onboarding program that showcases your company culture is more essential than ever.  By being proactive, your employee onboarding will help to:

• Reducing the compliance headache and legal risks.
• Getting all the busy work out the way so your new starter can focus on the important things, like meeting the team, setting goals and beginning their journey in your business.
• Make new hires feel at home with a ready to go workspace complete with everything they need to work.
• Get a headstart on culture by creating a friendly, collaborative environment.

You can use the following free employee onboarding checklist template as a guide to remind yourself of tasks to do before your new employee’s first day.

Free employee onboarding checklist template

New hire employment contract and information to collect

• Prepare an employment contract to be signed and accepted by your new hire. Using onboarding software, this can be done digitally and in a way that avoids the back and forth. Plus, you’ll receive access to a library of compliant contracts to use as a template. If you are writing one from scratch, here are some sections you need to consider:
  • Job information (location, job title, department, manager)
  • Work schedule
  • Length of employment
  • Compensation and benefits
  • Employee responsibilities
  • Non-disclosure agreement
  • Non-compete agreement
  • Time off policy
  • Termination conditions
• Send a letter of offer to your new hire. This is a document that provides an overview of the job being offered and the type of relationship that will be expected. Unlike the employment contract, this document does not need to consider compliance with national or state regulations.In your job offer letter or email, include:
  • Job title
  • Department
  • Name and position of direct report
  • Work schedule
  • Start date
  • Compensation
  • Benefits (brief mention)
  • Length of employment
  • The deadline date the candidate needs to respond to your offer.

You could also attach the employment contract, where you describe terms of employment in detail.

• Complete employment forms required by your country or state law. The most common types of forms new hires fill out are:
  • W-4 form (North America)
  • I-9 form (North America)
  • State tax withholding form
  • Tax file declaration form
  • Employee invention agreement form
  • Direct deposit form
  • Superannuation form

Employee onboarding tasks for your new hire to do:

• Ask new hires to send you:
  • Personal data to enter into company HRIS (e.g. ID or passport number, contact details, SSN number, tax identification number)
  • Bank account information, if you’re using direct deposit to pay employees
  • Copies of certificates and diplomas that are necessary to perform the job (e.g. for nursing or accounting positions)
  • Any food allergies or preferences they may have (e.g. vegetarian or gluten-free)
  • Ask for new hire’s T-shirt size and place an order for a work uniform and/or a company T-shirt as a welcome gift.

Employee onboarding tasks for manager to do:

• Remind new hire’s manager to send a chat message announcing the new employee on their start date (e.g. on Slack, Workplace.) Make sure to mention:
  • New hire’s name and job title
  • Department/team they’ll be joining
  • A few things about their professional or academic background
  • Welcome events you may have organized (e.g. an after-work dinner)
• Send a reminder to hiring managers to make sure they prepare new employee’s first-day tasks.

Employee onboarding tasks for everyone else:

• Send new hires a welcome email that includes:
  • Arrival time on their first day
  • A copy of your office map
  • A rundown of the dress code, if you have one
  • Finally, a first day or first week agenda
• Invite new hires to join corporate accounts, including:
  • Email
  • Messaging software (e.g. Slack)
  • HRIS
  • Productivity tools (e.g. Trello, ToDoist)
  • Password security (e.g. LastPass)
• Send a new hire announcement email or message to all employees to make sure they give a warm welcome to their new colleague.
• Send new hire’s data to your:
  • Accounting department, so that they add new employee to payroll
  • IT team, so that they can help them set up accounts for corporate software
  • Office Manager, so that they can set up their workstation
• Prepare your new hire’s tech, including:
  • Laptop
  • Monitor
  • Phone
  • Mouse
  • Keyboard
  • Headset
• Arrange for new hire’s ID card, building access fob and personal locker.
• Lastly order your new employee’s business cards and/or name plates.

Employee onboarding tasks to encourage engagement

• Prepare and send an onboarding kit. Here’s what you could include:
  • Employee handbook
  • A welcome letter from their manager or CEO
  • Computer setup instructions
  • Stationery (e.g. notebook, pens, stickers)
  • A company t-shirt
  • A company mug
  • A copy of your organizational chart
  • A copy of a book relevant to your company or its culture
  • A guide of local points of interest (e.g. nearby cafes and restaurants)
• Prepare a tentative first day and first week agenda that covers:
  • A company overview, including mission, teams and policies
  • 1:1 meetings with manager and team members
  • Completing HR paperwork
  • Role-specific trainings
  • Product-related demos
  • Finally, team-building activities (e.g. a group lunch)
• Assign a buddy to help new hire through first few weeks or months in the role.

That’s it folks – now you can onboard like you have never onboarded before! 

We hope you get some use from our free employee onboarding checklist template, however to really level up your onboarding – check out Worknice’s employee onboarding software.

Full list of inclusions

Note – we are working on it! All the contracts and policies are available. As more of the other templates come available, we will send them on to you.

Employment contracts – large employers and senior employees

1. Employment contract for large employers or senior employees (full-time/part-time)
2. Employment contract for large employers or senior employees (fixed term)
3. Employment contract for large employers or senior employees (casual)

Employment contracts – small and medium size businesses

4. Employment contract for small and medium size businesses (full-time/part-time)
5. Employment contract for small and medium size businesses (fixed term)
6. Employment contract for small and medium size businesses (casual)

1-page employment contracts

7. 1-page employment contract (full-time/part-time/fixed term)
8. 1-page employment contract (casual)

Independent contractor agreements

9. Independent contractor agreement (sole trader)
10. Independent contractor agreement (Pty Ltd company)
11. 1-page independent contractor agreement

Workplace policies

12. Bullying, discrimination and harassment policy
13. Code of conduct policy
14. Drug, alcohol and smoking policy
15. Flexible work arrangements policy
16. IT use policy
17. Leave policy
18. Social media policy
19. Vehicle use policy
20. Work health and safety policy
21. Working from home policy
22. Workplace surveillance notice and computer surveillance policy

Onboarding

23. Onboarding and development map
24. Employee induction process
25. New employee details form
26. Fair Work information statement
27. Superannuation standard choice form
28. Tax file number declaration form
29. Notification of casual conversion provisions
30. New starter action plan

Probation and performance review

31. 3-month probationary review form
32. 5-month probationary review form
33. Letter informing employee of unsuccessful completion of probationary period 
34. Letter informing employee of successful completion of probationary period 
35. Annual performance review form
36. Annual performance review – manager guidelines

Performance management

37. Letter inviting employee to performance management meeting
38. Performance improvement plan
39. First warning letter about performance
40. Second warning letter about performance
41. Final warning letter about performance
42. Termination letter for performance reasons

Managing misconduct

43. Letter inviting employee to meeting about misconduct
44. Outcome letter after meeting about misconduct
45. Termination for misconduct (not serious misconduct)
46. Termination letter for serious misconduct

Redundancy

47. Invitation to consultation meeting about redundancy
48. Termination letter for redundancy

Offboarding

49. Employee exit process
50. Letter to leaving employee about their ongoing obligations

Deeds and agreements

51. Agreement to cash out annual leave
52. Agreement to take annual leave in advance
53. Individual flexibility agreement
54. Confidentiality deed
55. Agreement to repay training costs
56. Repayment agreement (by deduction)
57. Repayment agreement (no deductions)
58. Deed of termination
59. Deed of release (short form)
60. Deed of release (long form)
61. Deed of settlement of legal proceedings

Need more than a template?

Templates a good, but they don’t harness the power of modern HR technology like Worknice. Worknice eliminates the stress of compliance by reducing manual admin and streamlining process.

Why is it worth downloading these free human resources templates?