What mess, exactly? Like the parent said, contractor or FTE, you're almost certainly at the mercy of "the company may terminate the agreement with immediate effect for any or no disclosed reason".
More accurate: "They can hire you a contractor for 3-12 months and not have to pay you benefits for that period."
I'm not an expert, but there are some financial ramifications associated with laying off too many people in proportion the the company size, at least in California, since people who have been laid off can claim unemployment benefits.
There's also the risk of wrongful termination lawsuits if you're hiring someone full-time only to immediately lay them off for not impressing you enough.
It is much simpler to hire someone as a contractor. You may not even have to go through HR to do it.
Yes, either way the relationship can be severed, by either party.
But if you're a FTE you will likely be able to get unemployment. As a contractor there is zero chance that can happen.
On the other hand, as a contractor you get to write off expenses, and if the client is following the law as a contractor you get a far more flexible schedule.
> On the other hand, as a contractor you get to write off expenses
There's probably not a lot of contractor-specific expenses you'd see in a C2H role. Hell, the two I did (admittedly a while back) gave me a company laptop. WFH tax concessions?
You're also not likely to get a C2H situation that looks like this:
FTE salary: $150,000, but for the duration of the "ramp" contract is paying you $150/hr.
You might have a small bump for tax discrepancies, but the last time I played that game you'd most likely find your contract rate to be $80-90/hr, i.e basically the same. They're not going to pay you effectively double for three months to hire you on at the base rate.
> if the client is following the law as a contractor you get a far more flexible schedule
I'd love to see the C2H that says "Hey, since you are a contractor, you can work your own hours and have your own availability". Or it might be said as lip service, but that's not how you're going to get the "hire" part.
More accurate: "They can hire you a contractor for 3-12 months and not have to pay you benefits for that period."