Proposed new laws with a $93K fine to put restaurants and café owners under stress
Casual jobs could soon be harder to classify under expected Labor IR reforms, and small businesses could face $93,000 fines if they incorrectly define a worker.
Business groups, particularly retail and hospitality groups which rely heavily on casual workers, are understandably concerned about the changes, which could be unveiled as soon as tomorrow (Thursday) by Employment Minister Tony Burke.
Burke said of the proposed legislation: “As part of the Government’s next set of workplace reforms - which will be introduced into Parliament next week - we will close the loophole that leaves people stuck classified as casuals when they actually work permanent hours.
“We will legislate a fair and simple definition to determine when an employee can be classified as casual - based on what is actually happening for that worker.
“The current situation where a contract can lie about whether a worker is a casual or permanent worker as a means of denying them job security has to end.
“Our amendment will be life changing for the small number of casuals who want to swap out their loading for greater job security. No one will be forced to convert from casual to permanent if they don’t want to.”
The new laws would negate the current shortdefinition of casual employment contained in the Fair Work Act. A new three-page definition would be put in, which is expected to include a 15-point test to determine whether a worker could be considered casual.
Those seeking casual employment under the current definition of casual work would no longer be able to classify themselves as casual. Instead, the definition of their employment status would be determined by the 15-point test.
Industry groups were recently briefed by the government and were forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
One business group member said, “Why would anyone want to risk hiring casuals and face the risk of severe penalties just by making a simple inadvertent mistake?
“It will be a red tape minefield (and for retail and hospitality) it is a recipe for disaster that will force a dramatic rethink on the hiring of staff, rendering some businesses unviable.”
Charles Cameron, CEO of the Recruitment, Consulting and Staffing Association said complicated changed would be concerning.
“Issues and challenges around casual employment were resolved several years ago, by legislative change that was subsequently supported by a decision of the High Court of Australia,” Cameron said.
“When it comes to casual employment, it feels like the government is trying to re-make a massive problem for workers and employers, and we are not sure why, or for whom.
“If the government does use legislation to remove the opportunity to work regular hours on a casual basis for people who choose it, that will strip 20 per cent from take-home pay for those workers at a time when living costs are skyrocketing.”
Business Council of Australia president Tim Reed urged the government to show restraint.
“We don’t believe that adding further risk and complexity to an already overly legalistic IR system by discouraging flexibility, will yield positive productivity outcomes,” Reed said.
“Instead we need to focus our efforts on simplifying the award system and going further to encourage enterprise based, win-win agreements.
Jonathan Jackson, 30th August 2023
