Is a farm a contractor within the meaning of the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out? Does the farm have to perform checks concerning contractor’s obligations if it enters into temporary agency work or subcontracting agreements?

Under the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out, a contractor is a trader who is required to submit a basic notification as specified in Section 3 of the Trade Register Act, or a community as separately listed in Section 3(1)(1) of the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out.

According to Section 3 of the Trade Register Act, the basic notification is required to be made by, for example, a limited partnership company, a partnership company, a limited liability company and a co-operative. A natural person (a private trader) who is conducting business is obliged to submit the basic notification as provided for in the Act on the Right to Carry on a Trade. However, this does not apply to those engaged in farming or fishing activities.

Thus, as a rule, only an incorporated farm is seen as a contractor within the meaning of the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out who must perform checks required by the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out before concluding temporary agency work and subcontracting agreements.

Also a trader who is not legally obliged to submit a basic notification to the Trade Register can do so, with the exception of shipowners. However, only a company that is obliged to submit a basic notification is considered to be a contractor within the meaning of the Act on the Contractor’s Obligations and Liability when Work is Contracted Out.