Employee or Indep Contractor question?

[josephinedalton]

I know another trainer who works for a small gym in SoCal. The gym owner considers his trainers to be "independent contractors" and expects each IC to pay their own insurance, taxes, etc.. like a typical IC.

BUT

the the gym sells the training packages, sets the rates and pays the trainer their percentages through a check every week. Trainers have no say so in how much to charge for the session AND has to wear a gym uniform ! ! !

Isn't this an "employee" ? Gym owner says his lawyer found a loophole and is legally allowed to do this. I disagree, and if I am correct or not... does anyone have a link to where this is stated in the law?

Please email responses at my bodyspace account or josephine32404@yahoo.com

[Sikk]

its like that at many gyms across the US

sadly

[MVP]

They are employees fronted as ind's. Saves the owner tons of money in workers comp, payroll, taxes etc..

[Al Shades]

This is exactly how it works at my facility.

There is no payroll. If I don't sell packages, I earn nothing.

[josephinedalton]

They are employees fronted as ind's. Saves the owner tons of money in workers comp, payroll, taxes etc..

But is this illegal?

[Sikk]

But is this illegal?

no its not

[kserajuddin]

But is this illegal?

Here's what the IRS says - kind of general -
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html

From my interpretation, it looks like the part about the uniforms is breaking the law - it's telling you how to perform your job -

[jules_d1]

This is how it works at my gym.

- I am an independent contractor.
- They take a % of each session.
- I invoice the gym
- I do not pay tax up front (i put it aside gaining interest:p)
- Choose how much I charge
- I can have my own specials/promos etc
- I can advertise within the gym with brocures etc.
- I get PT leads through the front desk (make sure you are on good term with the boss and reception ppl :p)
- Wear their uniform
- Train when i choose to train
- Free membership for myself.


Thoughts?

[UCONN_CSCS]

It's not illegal, but it doesn't work that way in every state either. California has so many gyms thus so many trainers that they tend to get away with that. It sucks imo, go independant if you can.

[xJKAx]

This is how it works at my gym.

- I am an independent contractor.
- They take a % of each session.
- I invoice the gym
- I do not pay tax up front (i put it aside gaining interest:p)
- Choose how much I charge
- I can have my own specials/promos etc
- I can advertise within the gym with brocures etc.
- I get PT leads through the front desk (make sure you are on good term with the boss and reception ppl :p)
- Wear their uniform
- Train when i choose to train
- Free membership for myself.


Thoughts?

The gym I am about to work for is the EXACT same way...

[sbf]

As a gym owner, it's interesting to me to hear the opinions of the Personal Trainers..

If you are established, sure you can go from house to house and make more money, but clients come and go, and most trainers make the bulk of their contacts with clients thru some kind of gym or word of mouth if they have built a good name for themselves...

That being said, if you are new, obviously you need a way to meet new clients.

Sure the gyms may make a profit from the revenue, but from the perspective of the a business owner....the owner has overhead, and an investment at stake..usually hundreds of thousands of dollars...The owner is usually set up to take credit cards and therefore can sell large packages, but also has to pay all the fees associated with this...The clubs usually also provide a system of booking appointments for the trainers, so they can benefit from someone scheduling appointments for them from open to close. At least that is how we do it.

So for a new trainer, if you are an Independent contractor, you can start your business risk free, unlike the gym owner.

At our gym, we pay our trainers $50 per hour for one on one training and up to $138 per hour for group training, and all they have to do is show up, so we think its a pretty good deal for them...we do have them wear SBF shirts, but this benefits them because they are easily identified on the floor and approached by new clients because of this...

In our area, we have a waiting list of trainers beating the door to get a job.
We have one trainer who's husband works at another club in the area and only gets paid $18 per hour with 10 years experience, so all gyms are not the same...but you have to start somewhere.

If you are new, just get your name out there and focus on building your clientele..then you can have more leverage when seeking higher income.

We try to respect our trainers and feel that by paying them well we reduce our turnover, everyone profits and everyone is happy...The worst paying places in my opinion are the large chains...I would recommend getting in a smaller club because it is easier to get to know people. If I were a trainer, I would personally never work for some of the rates on the above posts...Look for a better club!