The Federal Court has reserved judgment on whether hundreds of charity fundraisers for a major marketing agency can mount a class action to pursue it for alleged sham contracting.
A court has found an employer underpaid a worker by more than $230,000 because it "recklessly disguised the true legal nature" of a 20-year-plus employment relationship by classifying him as an independent contractor.
The rapid rise of the "gig" economy has "normalised" sham contracting and exploitation of young workers, according to a submission to a Senate inquiry into corporate avoidance of the Fair Work Act.
Fast food giant Pizza Hut has underpaid some of its delivery drivers, offering as little as $5.70 per delivery, with 92% of franchisees audited by the FWO failing to meet their legal obligations to employees, a report by the regulator has found.
The FWC has found a roof tiler is an employee who can make an unfair dismissal claim, ruling his employer created an independent contracting "façade" to suit its own purposes and avoid paying his entitlements.
A court has fined a company and its director $124,000 over a sham contracting arrangement in which they underpaid a 417 visa-holder almost $8000 for four months work after misclassifying him as an independent contractor.
Leading employment law practitioners have predicted it is only a matter of time before Australia sees a test case similar to UK's recent landmark Uber decision which found drivers were employees, not contractors.
