All “Employment law” topics

Chain of Responsibility in road freight transport

In Australia, the Heavy Vehicle National Law provides for heavy penalties for actors in the road freight industry for safety offences. The key point of difference from usual road laws is that they are aimed at all participants in the decisions that led to a safety incident, including those outside the transport sector. Thus all actors from sender to receiver are covered, in what is known as the “chain of responsibility”.

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Independent contractor or an employee?

When engaging independent contractors, it is essential that businesses carry out a thorough analysis of the real nature of the relationship. An Employment Court ruling in May that a contract courier driver should properly be characterised as an employee (meaning he was entitled to a range of minimum wage, leave, personal grievance and other entitlements) has been described as having “huge implications across the entire industry”.

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The Courier Case and what it means for you

Independent contractors who provide courier driving services are mounting a claim in the Employment Court, arguing that despite the terms of their contracts, they are employees. In this article, Jackie Behrnes and Gwen Drewitt take a look at the difference between employees and independent contractors and the potential significance of this case.

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