Workplace Law

Modern types of work are developed from the master/servant status. Therefore it is important to determine if a person is an employee from an independent contractor for reasons of liability, tax reasons, legislative protection on employment benefits. Thus it is important for Autumn Fashion to look through the laws in determining if Johnny is recognized as an employee or as a contractor at common law.

The common law does not define who an employee is, but it categorizes work relationship into 2 categories; contracts of service and other types of work or contract. It is to be noted that if a person is an independent contractor, he is under contract for services, whereas if a person is an employee he is under a contract o service or employment. A few tests are applied to determine the relationship. Firstly, the control test is applied, this test is concerned with the (a) nature of the control and (b) the degree of the control. However, it is important to note that no single indicator can determine if a person is a contractor or an employee.

An employee performs work, under the direction and control of their employer, on an ongoing basis. An independent contractor has a high level of control in how the work is done. Each determination is based on the individual merits of the work arrangement in place. Courts always look at the totality of the relationship between the parties when determining the status of a person’s employment. It was noted that specialized workers like Johnny who had a number of specialist licenses for the operation of various loading machinery, could be employees while not being subjected to commands on how to perform their skills, as long as control remained in management issues. (ZUjis v. Wirth Brothers Pty Ltd (1995)) (Waarden 2010). In the case, it was no longer the actual control, which an employer exercised over a worker that mattered in defining the employment relationship, but rather an employers right to exercise that control. In this...