Topic outline
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Increasingly we are seeing a move away from traditional employment relationships towards the ‘gig’ economy. While for some, the flexibility of becoming your own boss and contracting independently might be a good thing, in many cases this means those that work for themselves are missing out on many of the rights provided by Parliament through 'protective' employment legislation.
In some cases, employers actively seek to avoid creating an employment relationship and thereby minimise their legal obligations. Some 'employers' go so far as to create what the Fair Work Act, 2009 (Cth) refer to as 'sham' contracting arrangements.
Determining whether or not an employment relationship exists is often a complex legal area, requiring the 'weighing up' of numerous indicators. It continues to be an issue the courts still struggle with today.
Consider the case of Terry the cleaner in the video scenario below.
The reading for this week’s work is Chapter 2 of the textbook.
Presentation length: 5m 39s
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