I hear a lot of questions from new and established group practice owners about whether they should have independent contractors or employees. It’s probably one of the most difficult things to decide on as a group practice owner, since there is no concrete answer (the grey area is all over the place!).
Since deciding on hiring independent contractors or employees is such an individualized decision (if you didn’t know, there are a million and one ways to run and structure a group practice!), it’s hard to look at how others are doing it and make your own decision off that. So, I decided to write up a list of reflection questions to help guide you in your decision making process. My advice is to answer these questions as honestly as possible and take these answers and talk to an employment attorney, CPA, or the Small Business Association so that they can get a sense of what your vision is when it comes to how you want to run your business.
If you take a look at the IRS website, you’ll get a generic sense of what the difference between an IC and W2 are. Have you ever looked at it and felt like your style fits right into one or the other category? Probably not. This is where the struggle comes in with making “the right decision.”
Remember, the three main categories the IRS looks at when deciding if a business owner is treating people in their business like employees or independent contractors is how much control they have in the clincians’ behavior, financial control, and type of relationship they have with one another (check out the articles below on more about these three categories).
For more IC/W2 discussion check these articles–>
Switching from IC to W2? How to talk to your ICs.
My interview with my employment lawyer about ICs and W2s
IC/Employee definition per the IRS
Download your copy of the IC/W2 Reflection Questions below!
Download IC/W2 reflection questions here
Maureen Werrbach is a psychotherapist, group practice owner and group practice coach. Learn more about her coaching services here: LEARN MORE HERE
