Here to have a subcontractor you are supposed to be a general contractor yourself. Do you have a business accountant? Ask them what your options are. The state and federal agencies involved are always happy to help you comply, of course, you have indicated you have checked but maybe there is additional information available from them that will make the decision for you.

You need to make sure that a subcontractor working for you gives you a W-9 form, their employers tax ID#, and proof of insurance. If they do not have those, you are technically responsible for haing workman's comp and witholding their half and paying the other half of their medicare and social security payments to the feds.

Also, a subcontractor is not directly supervised as an employee is. A subcontractor by definition is not told exactly what hours to work either. If you are doing that, you are technically supposed to be paying these folks as employees.

Remember that someone telling you that they are going to take care of their taxes does not get you off the hook unless they have given you their business documentation.

Look at form W-9 and its directions on the IRS website.

Also bear in mind, an employee's first responsibility is to his or her boss; a sub will likely be juggling your jobs as well as several others. I worked for a large landscape firm in AZ that used subs for all their installs, and it was a nightmare. They'd take the folder and spend a day on site to keep the job, then pull off (but leave their debris and some tools, of course) and start the next one. It wasn't unusual for these guys to have 4 or 5 big jobs going in a week- and the subs were typically 3-5 man outfits. You can backcharge them for delays or shoddy work, but if they see the backcharges get big enough they'll just walk off the job. Had it happen to me.

I just mention this side of it because you mentioned you have a hard time getting referrals to answer the phone.

I think this is a case where there is a misunderstanding as to how a worker can be paid, rather than a decision to hire an employee or subbing out the work. It is a common misunderstanding.

No, I understand payroll.

The issue for me is, I think I'm ready to grow (at least I'll be ready in the spring). Hiring an employee will allow me to take on more jobs and be more efficient. The twist is, as I get more jobs, more people want elements in the garden that are beyond my skill level (decks, ponds, fences...). Giving referrals has worked, just not very well. My question is, should I be subcontracting these jobs or should I be hiring experienced employees. Laborers would be nice. A staff of deck building, pond installing, sprinkler gurus would be sweet!

Sorry if I didn't make that point in my first post, I had to read your responses to have a better understanding for my own needs.

I'll have to check into a GC licence. Thanks for all your info.

Hi, please forgive my intrusion to your discussion, I have to confess that I am not a "gal", I'm from the UK, and so have no understanding of your employment rules which appear from here to be a little draconian. But...

I set up my own garden design and construction business in March of this year, and like you have come to realise that I really need some help. I have had a semi retired fella help me out for 2 or 3 days a week during the summer, and really miss having him around when I'm working alone, both from the point of view of having an extra set of hands, a few extra brain cells for the occasional problems, and also someone to have a chat to over tea or coffee breaks.

I am struggling with how to move to the next level now. Sub contracting is, it appears, the simple solution, if sub contractors work to the same standards that I like to think I have set for myself. I'm not sure that they always do, or maybe that is just me not wanting to let go of my responsibilities. I would like to have a full time employee, but am not sure how much work I am likely to be able to carry out during a wet English winter (do I pay an employee even when it rains for a whole week??). What if I train them up only for them to go off and set up their own business?

One suggestion made to me is that local colleges run landscape courses, and always look for work placemtnes for their students to give them practical work based skills. This gives you a "free" employee to use for a few weeks at a time, allows you to look at whether they would fit into your business, and allows them to see whether they would like to work for you. For me, if you have only one employee, it is vital that you get on well from a personal point of vew, after all, you will prolly be spending more time with them than your husband/wife/partner!

Oh dear, I'm rambling. Hope my thoughts may have been of some small help.

SA