When is an employee not an employee? This can be something of a vexed question in many jurisdictions, given the advantageous implications of employee status. The existence of an employment contract brings with it a host of statutory benefits, which in many cases employers would prefer not have to honour. As a result, companies often seek to enter into special agreements that, on face value, do not entitle the relevant workers to such favourable conditions. But just because a contract has a different label does not necessarily mean that it is not, in truth, an employment contract. So how to determine whether an employment relationship in fact exists?
The Chilean legislature has adopted a generous interpretation of the question – under the Labour Code, an employment contract is assumed to exist whenever an individual provides a service to a company in exchange for remuneration. Indeed, Cristian Eyzaguirre and Ismael Ureta at Claro y Cia note that even where the services are provided at the company’s request and payment is requested by invoice, the individual may still have an argument that he is actually a company employee, with all the advantages this entails.
