All labor in the DR is "contract" labor, whether you write it down or not. If you don't write it down, if you end up in front of the Labor Board at a hearing, it's then assumed to be what the Labor Code says it SHOULD say.
It's been my experience that in the DR you usually get what you give to Dominicans. (I have yet to run across any Dominicans similar to a few bad apple American employees endlessly chasing workers' comp claims after 3 months of work, from employer to employer to employer.)
If you take care of your employees, they will take care of you. If you don't take care of them, you may soon learn the other end of the stick. Here in the DR, the rules are tilted a bit more in favor of the employees than in other places.
At the same time, if as previously agreed upon by you and the employee, if an employee performs work for you 2 days a week, at a payrate of RD$250 a day, then to determine his severance benefits after working for you for a year would be RD$91 per day X the number of days of benefits, and NOT the RD$250 workday rate - the severance is determined by the AVERAGE daily rate per day for the prior 12 months. (RD$500 divided by 5.5 days per week).
At the same time, if he has worked for you at the same rate for only 6 months, the benefits rate would then drop to $45.45 per day ( $500 per week X 26 weeks divided by 52 weeks divided by 5.5 days per week.)
Another consideration is that most Dominicans have no concept of "hourly" pay. They just want to know how much they will earn per month, regardless of hours worked, and whether or not Transporte is included, or lunch included.
The Labor Code also standardizes a "work Week" at 44 hours. Yes, it is a quagmire, and it is tough to learn the ropes.