Employer

A construction company that acts as an employer is a physical person (sole proprietorship) or a corporation or partnership.

An employer must:

Hold a licence issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) in or several of the general contractor or specialized contractor subcategories;
Hire employees to do construction work;
Declare the hours worked of the employee(s) in the employer’s monthly report.

An administrator, shareholder, corporation, or member of a partnership may also be an employee. However, a physical person (sole proprietorship) may not be considered an employee in his or her own company.

Designated representative

A corporation or a partnership may appoint a designated representative to the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) by fulfilling the following conditions:

The company must hold a licence issued by the Régie du Bâtiment du Québec (RBQ);
The company must be registered with the CCQ;
The designated representative must be a member of a partnership, or an administrator or voting shareholder in a corporation. He must also supply the form Registration or Modification of the Designated Representative (or the "Designation of a representative" section of the form Registration of a Company at the initial registration of the company), duly filled out.
The designated representative must also hold a competency certificate or apply for one with the CCQ.

The mechanisms for obtaining a competency certificate for a designated representative are different than for an employee.

When it appoints a designated representative, a company is not obliged to declare the hours worked by this representative in the monthly report, as long as it declares hours for one or more employees. The designated representative also enables a corporation or partnership holding a specialized contractor licence to act as an independent contractor.

Sole proprietorship

The sole proprietorship must:

Hold a licence issued by the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ)
Be registered with the CCQ

The sole proprietorship must declare the hours worked by its employees in monthly reports. On the other hand, the physical person operating this company cannot declare his or her own hours worked since he or she is considered the employer. However, if this person holds a trade contractor licence, he or she may also act as an independent contractor.

Competency certificates

The physical person operating a sole proprietorship must also hold a competency certificate or apply for one from the CCQ. However, the terms for obtaining a competency certificate for an employer candidate are different from those for an employee.