The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has once again
confirmed that parties cannot alter the true nature of a
relationship by putting a different label on it.
"It would be hard to find a clearer case where
the indicia were so strong as suggesting this to be an employment
relationship and not a contractor relationship. I think it is
abundantly clear that this was a sham contracting arrangement and
that is my finding. It's not a difficult one to reach
given the state of the evidence."
This decision serves as a warning to
organisations of the risks of incorrectly classifying a
relationship. In this decision the Commissioner indicated that he
would refer the matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman
(FWO) General Manager as he was concerned that the
company may have a number of workers engaged on a similar
arrangement to that of the Applicant.
