High Court overturns casual worker ruling

A decision in a High Court appeal backed by the Federal Government has dashed the hopes of casual miners seeking justice, according to the CFMEU. Overturning a Federal Court ruling that a casually employed mine worker was actually working on a permanent basis and entitled to back-paid leave entitlements, the High Court found his employment was on an “assignment by assignment” basis. The union said the WorkPac v Rossato appeal judgment wound back important wins for casuals established in the Skene and Rossato Federal Court decisions. However, Mining and Energy general president Tony Maher said legislation passed by the Morrison Government in March in the stripped back IR Omnibus Bill had already embedded an unfair definition of casual in the Fair Work Act and blocked pathways to compensation. Meanwhile Australian Resources and Energy Group AMMA has welcomed the High Court decision, with chief executive Steve Knott saying that common sense had finally prevailed. "The uncertainty in this area stretches back to 2016 when the Federal Circuit Court first flipped the common understanding of casual employment on its head in the Skene matter. This was compounded by similar findings of the Full Federal Court in Rossato,” Mr Knott said.“The damage these decisions have had on business confidence in just about every sector of the economy has been enormous. The view from the employer community has always been that the Federal Court was applying a highly novel interpretation that was out of step with how casual employment arrangements have worked in practice for many decades.“While it is disappointing WorkPac had to take the Rossato matter all the way to the High Court, employers strongly welcome the confirmation that the Federal Court had erred in its interpretations.” Mr Knott said also the Bill passed in March had dealt with the issue of double-dipping, where an employee who worked under a casual contract and received the 25 per cent casual pay loading could later claiming back-paid leave entitlements. "The legislation fended off a number of class action litigators, many internationally funded, who were circling Australian employers like sharks hoping to profit off the huge historic liabilities that would have been imposed on small, medium and large businesses,” he said. Mr Maher said the union had fought long and hard through the courts to expose the ‘permanent casual rort' in the mining industry. “The Federal Court has twice upheld the commonsense principle that you can’t be a so-called ‘permanent casual’," he said. “However, the Morrison Government has been determined to do the bidding of big mining and labour hire companies and overturn sensible limits on casualisation through the IR Omnibus Bill and by supporting this appeal in the High Court."

High Court overturns casual worker ruling

Industry Queensland

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