Paying 50% of lab fees AND compensation of hygienists and expanded function dental assistants?

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Svart Aske

Dental Padawan
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Hi guys,

New soon-t0-be GPR graduate looking for my first job here. I've been offered a contract that stipulates that as an independent contractor, I am responsible for 50% of lab fees AS WELL AS the compensation for hygienists and EFDAs. My compensation is 35% of collections + additional percentages depending on yearly receipts.

Does this sound at all reasonable to anyone? I've been told that 50% is already high to pay for lab fees as an associate, and I'll also be partly responsible for paying other employees of the practice?

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never heard of being responsible for the wages of the other employees of the practice. If you think about it, all the work you do as an associate pays for some part of the overhead.

I would try to strike that out of the contract. your percentage is good, but hopefully their collection rate is good too(ie. greater than 95%)

I would also try to add a clause stating that you will get paid for re-doing any pros work that was done by previous associates either by the owner or the patient.
 
This sounds like a terrible contract. As an independent contractor your going to be paying a lot in taxes, your own medical insurance. Then they want you to pay for the EFDA and Hygienists pay? That sounds crazy!! I would post this in dentaltown and get some more experienced people to look at it but I would tell that guy to get lost.
 
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50% of lab fees for 35% production sounds fair to me, but not for 35% of collections. You aren't responsible for making the patients pay his office, and if he is hesitant to show you his books and collections %, that is a big red flag. And you are certainly NOT responsible for the owner doc's employees. That's a drawback of being an owner, you have overhead. As an associate/independent contractor, your only overhead should be lab fees, if that.

Don't even try to renegotiate your contract with this guy, if he's trying to screw you now, he will do it again later.
 
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Bad contract!!!

If you are DIRECTLY paying for the wages/benefits of other staff members, that's not an independent contractor or even an associates contact, that's a partnership contract.

If that potential employer is trying to pull that much of a fast one on you, I'd bet that you'll find out that he/she will be trying to pull many other fast one's on you should you so choose to work there.

An Independent contractor contract in it's purest form should basically be, you get X% of whatever you collect, and you are responsible for your own overhead (lab fees, instruments, professional fees, health insurance, your own taxes, etc) from that amount
 
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Thanks for the responses, guys. Yeah, just too many eyebrow-raising details and ridiculous penalties in the contract for me to consider.
 
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