When most pet parents look for a pet sitter to take care of their “furry babies”, they will check the obvious things; insurance, bonding, references, background checks, etc… Having these things in place is important, but there is something else that pet parents should ask prospective pet sitting company that is even more important: Are their pet sitters employees or independent contractors (IC’s)? If the company you decide to hire uses IC’s, there are a few things you should be aware of, and the company probably won’t share this information with you.
First, independent contractors cannot be trained. A company who utilizes IC’s cannot do ANY type of formal training with them. They cannot force them to follow company policies and procedures, and they cannot tell them how their services should be rendered. For example, if an IC decides that they want to walk your dog off-leash (even though company policy states they are not allowed to do that), they can do that. The IC decides how they get their work done, and the company that they work for cannot technically do anything about it.