The Government is promising a new law will bring clarity to the question of whether certain workers are employees or contractors, but it likely leaves some definitions of the “gig economy” to be resolved by a future government - or the courts.
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke Van Velden has announced the shape of planned legislation clarifying the legal test for when employers could be considered contractors or workers.
In an interview with BusinessDesk, Van Velden also said the proposed change would be the final word on this issue for the current electoral term and she wasn’t considering creating a different category of employment for those who fell between employment and contracting-type arrangements, as some have asked for.
“Look, as far as I’m concerned this is where I am for now, I’m not interested in trying to create, like you say, a third category of worker just because what I’m aiming to achieve is certainty and simplicity under our law.
“Adding another category of worker again provides for now two potential grey zones where people may now challenge their status in the courts rather than just the one between the two groups; and that’s not what I’m interested in going down the route of.
