The Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) says it is delighted that the Government has decided to intervene to make the Commonwealth a party in a test case before the Federal Court of Australia, which considers whether an employer can be required to pay twice for the same workplace entitlement.
The PIAA had previously called on the Government to provide clarity to businesses regarding the definition of casual employment, and employer expectations.
The Minister for Employment, the Hon. Kelly O’Dwyer MP, announced that the Government would now be a part of the case, which has potential ramifications totalling $8bn across the economy if the precedent made applies to all casual employees nationwide.
Businesses within the printing industry and across the Australian economy had been confused with recent case law which suggested that not only would casual employees be entitled to their casual loading, but they may also be entitled to entitlements under the National Employment Standards too, including annual leave and possibly personal leave as well. The PIAA considered this double dipping and unfair for its members.
The mining and energy union, CFMEU, says, “In the Workpac v Skene decision, the Federal Court found that that casual haul truck operator Paul Skene was not really a casual due to the regular and continuous nature of his work on a fixed roster. He was therefore entitled to receive accrued annual leave pay on termination of his employment with WorkPac. The decision means that employees in similar regular and continuous employment may be entitled to paid annual and personal leave, even if their employer classifies them as casual. This is an important win for workers in coal mining.”
Paul Mitchell, workplace relations manager, PIAA, says, “Small businesses must be able to operate with clarity and certainty of the law, which will ensure not only their success, but the success of Australians employed in small businesses across Australia.”
This intervention by O’Dwyer follows the PIAA’s successful Print to Parliament event held at Parliament House in Canberra which was attended by politicians from across the political spectrum and by Ministers and senior advisers from their offices.
Walter Kuhn, president, PIAA, says, “Since the Workpac v Skene decision, PIAA has been terrific in communicating what this decision means to its members through emails and a teleconference. Last week we were in Canberra talking about what this decision would mean for our industry and our members. Now we have this intervention from the Coalition Government to provide greater clarity to businesses on what the definition of casual employment means. This is a welcome announcement for our industry.”
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