A consultancy contract, and how it differs from a contract of employment
The difference between a contract under which independent work or a service is provided, and a contract of employment, is read from the true nature of the relationship, not from the heading of the paper. The framework is on preparing a contract. Labour disputes are a separate page, on their practice area.
What is looked at in the characterisation?
Article 1 of Labour Law No. 37 of 2015 treats as a worker any natural person doing work for a wage of whatever kind, under an employer's direction, supervision and management. The definition reaches a contract that is written or oral, express or implied, and it also reaches training and a probation period. The Law then describes a contract of employment as the agreement by which that work or service is performed on those terms. If those elements are present, a heading such as "consultancy" or "professional service" does not, of itself, take the relationship outside the Labour Law.
The Civil Code allows a contract to relate to a particular work or service, under article 74, without that of itself being a contract of employment if direction, supervision and management in return for a wage are absent. The assessment in a particular file is read from the facts and from the text.
Form, duration, and enrolment in social security
Where the employment contract is in writing, article 37 requires the employer to prepare three written originals. One remains with each side; the remaining original is filed with دائرة التشغيل والقروض (the Department of Employment and Loans). The article also lists minimum particulars; those particulars are taken from the official text, not from any form set out here. Article 38 adds that a contract for a fixed term does not, as a rule, run beyond one year, except in the cases the Law itself allows.
Enrolment of a worker with the Department of Pension and Social Security for Workers is a separate path, on its page. The heading "consultancy" does not stand in for that path if the definition of a worker applies.
The office follows a reading of the distinction from Baghdad, al-Yarmouk.
Legal basis and sources
Frequently asked questions
Is it enough that the contract is headed as a consultancy?
No. The character of the relationship is read from the elements of direction, supervision and management in return for a wage in article 1 of the Labour Law, not from the heading alone.
Where is the third copy of a written employment contract deposited?
With the Department of Employment and Loans, under article 37 of the Labour Law. That deposit is not the same as enrolling the worker in workers' social security.
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