One million casual workers granted access to annual, sick and other leave
The Federal Court’s landmark ruling last week could
transform the lives of hundreds of thousands of casual workers.
The Australian Workers’ Union has long campaigned against
the increasing casualisation of the workforce which has led to widespread
rorting.
Now, around one million Australians, who undertake regular
shifts rostered in advance and are in all intents and purposes permanent
employees, will be entitled to annual leave, sick leave and all the other
rightful entitlements that full-time employees get.
As a result of the decision, many casual workers could also
receive substantial amounts of back pay for the entitlements they missed out
on.
The Federal Court case concerned a claim by miner Robert
Rossato, who claimed he was owed leave and public holiday entitlements by
labour hire business WorkPac.
Mr Rossato worked as part of a crew at mines operated by the
Glencore Group that also included permanent employees. They performed exactly
the same duties and worked under the same roster.
WorkPac argued that he had no right to annual leave because
his contact stated he was a casual worker and that he would be double dipping
because casual workers already received an extra 25% loading to make up for
their loss of such entitlements.
But, the Federal Court ruled in Mr Rossato’s favour stating
his employment was ‘regular, certain, continuing, constant and predictable’ and
that his employment did not meet the description of a genuine casual employee
as one that has “no firm advance commitment from her or his employer to
continuing and indefinite work according to an agreed pattern of work”.
It also dismissed WorkPac’s attempt to set-off casual
loading payments against leave entitlements, finding the casual loading paid to
Mr Rossato was a payment for work performed and not a payment for leave
entitlements.
It’s been estimated this ruling will affect around one
million workers from across a whole range of industries including hospitality,
aged care, hairdressing and the resource sector, which has increasingly turned
to using labour hire companies to source workers.
The AWU says the ruling should make employers think twice
before hiring ‘full-time’ workers as casuals.
Daniel Walton said: “This is tremendous news for workers
across Australia who have been exploited for years. It’s plainly wrong that we
have people doing the same job but one is being paid annual leave, and another
gets no holiday or sick leave. It’s high time this loop hole is closed once and
for all and Australian workers get the entitlements they deserve. We hope the
Government will respect the court’s decision and allow this ruling to stand.
“We know that many casual workers struggle to make ends meet
and rarely take sick leave even when they need it. This decision will transform
their lives.”
Last week’s decision demonstrates that even if a worker has
signed a casual employment contract, they may be able to access leave
entitlements under the National Employment Standards.
If you think you have been incorrectly labelled as a casual
employee by your employer, contact us by filling the below form.
The AWU will help you find out if you are owed leave
entitlements and whether you can start enjoying all the important and hard-won
benefits of permanent employment.
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