Originally Posted by
Jan Olieslagers
I reckon that's a matter of semantics. I have at one time "hired" my nieces to come and "do" my garden - paying them handsomely so they could properly fit themselves out for the upcoming weekend. This did not make them professionals, or tax-liable; neither did it make me an employer.
I don't know about Belgian law, but under English law, if they'd had an accident whilst using your lawnmower, I think that you might have discovered quite quickly that you were indeed their employer, with a whole bunch of consequent legal responsibilities.
G