Hiring wedding day assistants in Canada as employees or contractors under CRA rules

What to take away

The CRA tests, applied to a wedding day assistant

Picture the Saturday you just ran. You set the call time, handed over the emergency kit, walked the assistant through the run sheet, and paid a flat day rate. On those facts the Canada Revenue Agency sees an employee, whatever the invoice says.

The agency weighs four things: control, ownership of tools, chance of profit and risk of loss, and integration into your business. Control carries the most weight. You chose the call time, the dress code and the order of the day.

Tools matter less than they once did. An assistant who brings her own steamer but uses your radio, your kit and your van is still working inside your operation. The real question is whose business the work belongs to.

Profit and loss separate a business from a job. A contractor can earn more by working faster, bring in helpers, and carry her own liability insurance. An assistant on a flat day rate with no say in the price has neither.

Integration is the quiet test. If the assistant's work is part of what you sell and she has no other clients, the relationship looks like employment. A florist who also does setup for three different planners looks like a contractor.

A written contract helps, but it does not decide. The CRA can disregard a contract that calls an employee a contractor, then assess the unpaid source deductions with penalties and interest going back several years.

If you are unsure, ask the CRA for a written ruling on a named worker. The request is Form CPT1, Request for a Ruling as to the Status of a Worker. The facts you present have to match how you actually work. A ruling built on a tidy description that does not match the Saturday offers no protection.

Keep the records that show the real relationship: invoices, schedules, who supplied what, and whether the assistant works for anyone else. Those records decide the outcome in a review.

For most small Canadian planning businesses, the safe route is to treat regular day assistants as employees and hire true contractors only for specialist work. The payroll you avoid is smaller than the assessment you risk.

Payroll once an assistant is an employee

Employment starts a payroll account. You deduct Canada Pension Plan contributions, Employment Insurance premiums and income tax from each pay, add the employer's share of CPP and EI, and remit the total to the CRA.

Payroll Overview - Canada.ca lists the core duties: open the account, calculate deductions, remit by the due date, and issue a T4 slip by the end of February for the previous year.

Employer CPP is 5.95 percent of pensionable earnings, and employer EI is 1.4 times the employee premium.

How often you remit depends on your average monthly withholding. A planner paying a handful of assistants may remit quarterly; a busier one remits monthly or more often. Late remittances attract penalties and interest quickly.

The CRA threshold is $3,000 of average monthly withholding. Below it you can remit quarterly; from $3,000 to $99,999 the default is monthly.

Keep timesheets, pay records and remittance confirmations for at least six years. If you use payroll software, confirm it handles CPP, EI and provincial tax for the province where the work happens.

Hiring family does not change the rules. A spouse or child who works as a day assistant under your direction is an employee for payroll purposes, and the CRA looks at the work rather than the relationship.

True contractors are different. You do not deduct CPP, EI or tax from their fees, but you report the payments on a T4A slip. The slip goes to the CRA and to the contractor by the last day of February for the year before. Mixing the two groups on one spreadsheet is where assessments start.

Budget the employer costs, not just the day rate. The employer share of CPP and EI adds a real percentage to every scheduled hour, and that percentage belongs in your quote before the client sees it. Rate-setting arithmetic sits in wedding planning employee pay.

Employment standards differ by province

Employment standards are provincial. A day assistant in Ontario, British Columbia, Quebec or Alberta is covered by that province's rules, and federal standards apply only to federally regulated industries, which wedding planning is not.

Minimum wage, overtime thresholds, break rules, scheduling notice and termination entitlements all vary. Apply the rules of the province where the work is performed, not where your business is registered.

In Ontario, Your guide to the Employment Standards Act | ontario.ca covers several topics:

Ontario's general minimum wage is $17.20 an hour as of October 1, 2024, and overtime starts after 44 hours in a week at 1.5 times the hourly rate.

Ontario also expects written employment agreements and sets rules for temporary help agencies. If you staff an event through an agency, the agency carries some obligations alongside yours.

British Columbia has its own Employment Standards Act, with different overtime rules and a minimum shift length that matters on a short setup. Its general minimum wage is $17.40 an hour as of June 1, 2024. Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan each set their own minimum wage and their own overtime threshold.

Quebec adds language requirements and its own labour standards on scheduling and breaks. A planner working in Montreal should expect to provide key documents in French and to follow Quebec norms on rest periods.

The Atlantic provinces set their own minimum wage and overtime rules and change them often. Check the current rate before each season rather than carrying last year's number forward.

Vacation pay is the common gap. Most provinces require a percentage of earnings, often four percent, paid or accrued. Calling it a bonus at the end of the season is not compliant.

Termination rules reach seasonal staff. End an assistant's engagement early and notice or pay in lieu may be owed under provincial law, whatever your contract says.

Keep an employment standards file for every province you work in and review it each year. Rates and thresholds move, and your contracts and onboarding have to move with them. The wider onboarding sequence is in the markets for wedding planning guide.

WorkSafeBC coverage in British Columbia

In British Columbia, WorkSafeBC coverage is mandatory for most employers, wedding planners included. Hire day assistants as employees and you register, report your payroll, and pay premiums.

Need coverage? - WorkSafeBC explains who needs coverage and how to register, including the position of independent operators, who may opt in or may need coverage depending on their status.

Coverage protects both sides. An assistant injured moving tables or raising a tent files a WorkSafeBC claim instead of suing you. Without coverage you can be liable for the full cost of the injury and face penalties on top.

Premiums follow your assessable payroll and your industry rate. Report casual and part-time assistants accurately. Underreporting to save premium is a common audit finding and carries its own penalty.

Independent operators in BC are not automatically covered. A genuine contractor handles her own coverage, but if you direct her work, WorkSafeBC may treat her as a worker and expect coverage from you.

Coverage classification follows logic close to the CRA tests. Control, integration and who supplies the tools all count. A planner who directs every task and supplies all the equipment will find the assistant treated as a worker.

Keep the registration current through a quiet year. If you pay no payroll you may still have to file a report. Letting coverage lapse and restarting it creates gaps and penalties.

Work performed in BC usually needs BC coverage even when your business is registered elsewhere. For a BC planner building a team, wedding planning hiring sets out the sequence.

WSIB registration and independent operators in Ontario

Ontario runs its own workers' compensation system. Register with us | WSIB sets out when an Ontario business must register, which generally means businesses that employ workers in mandatory coverage sectors.

Most wedding planning businesses with employees fall inside mandatory coverage. Once registered, you report payroll, pay premiums, and your workers gain coverage for workplace injuries and illnesses.

Independent operators sit outside that account. Independent operators | WSIB explains that a true independent operator is responsible for her own coverage, and the business has to be able to show she is genuinely independent.

The WSIB looks at control, whether the operator runs her own business, whether she can work for others, and who supplies tools and insurance. An assistant who works only your events, at your direction, rarely qualifies.

If you rely on independent operators, keep the evidence: business number, invoices, insurance certificates, and proof of other clients. Without it, the WSIB can assess premiums you believed you had avoided.

Clearance works differently from construction, but the principle of checking status travels. Confirm each subcontractor's coverage so an injury does not land back on your account.

Failing to register or report brings retroactive premiums, interest and fines. Voluntary disclosure before an audit usually costs less than an audit finding, so fix gaps early.

Registration in one province does not cover work performed in another. Ontario planners who also work in BC or Quebec need to check each board. The wedding planning compliance checklist covers the rest of what a new owner faces.

Clearance letters and insurance certificates from suppliers

A clearance letter confirms a subcontractor's workers' compensation account is in good standing. On larger events, coordinators ask for one before hiring a setup crew, a lighting contractor or a rental supplier.

In Ontario, a WSIB clearance certificate shows the account is current. Hire a subcontractor without checking and the WSIB can assess you for premiums that subcontractor owes. That is the whole reason for the letter.

Ask before work starts, not after. A letter dated before the contract period proves little. A current letter naming your business and the project proves more.

Venue vendors are a separate case. The venue's own AV and cleaning staff are the venue's responsibility. An outside supplier you bring in is yours to check, so mark on the run sheet who carries coverage for each supplier.

File the letter with the event paperwork. If a claim surfaces months later, the letter is your proof that you checked status at the time. Without it the cost can land on your account.

A clearance letter is not an insurance certificate. Ask for both: general liability insurance, and workers' compensation clearance. They cover different risks, and one does not stand in for the other.

If a supplier cannot produce a letter, book someone else or write the contract so the risk is clear. Do not assume the venue checked on your behalf.

Build the check into supplier onboarding so it happens every time. A one-page checklist per new vendor closes the gap that only appears after an incident.

Supplier clearance checklist

Supplier checks belong in the same onboarding pack as staff checks. The wedding planning hiring guide covers both.

A worked example: two planners, two classifications

A Toronto planner hires the same two assistants for 20 events a season. They work only for her, under her direction. On those facts the CRA would likely call them employees, and the WSIB would expect registration.

A Halifax planner books a lighting specialist who sets her own price, brings her own rig, and serves other planners. That specialist is more likely a contractor, and the planner should collect a clearance letter and an insurance certificate before the event.

Write a short note for each worker explaining the classification and keep the supporting records. If a review comes, the note shows you applied the tests instead of picking the cheaper label.

Review classifications each season. An assistant who starts taking regular shifts has shifted the facts toward employment, and payroll and coverage should follow.

Write each role down before you advertise it and review the fit after the first season. A written role description makes the classification decision easier to defend later.

Common questions

Can I hire a day assistant as a contractor if the contract says so?

No. The CRA looks at the working relationship, not the label. If you control the work, supply the tools and the assistant works only for you, the agency will likely treat her as an employee whatever the contract calls her.

Do I need WSIB if I hire assistants for only a few events a year?

In Ontario, a business that employs workers in a mandatory coverage sector generally registers once it has employees. Occasional and part-time work still counts, so confirm your situation with the WSIB directly.

Does WorkSafeBC cover independent operators in BC?

Not automatically. A true independent operator handles her own coverage, but if you control her work, WorkSafeBC may treat her as a worker and expect you to provide coverage and report her payroll.

What is a clearance letter and when do I need one?

It confirms a subcontractor's workers' compensation account is in good standing. Ask for one before the subcontractor starts work, keep it with the event file, and pair it with a certificate of insurance.