No control, no excuse: Non-delegable duties in labour hire arrangements

The plaintiff alleged that both his labour hire employer and host employer failed to provide a safe system of work, adequate equipment, and proper training, leading to a workplace accident during a demoulding task that caused him to suffer a spinal injury.

In issue

• The plaintiff was employed by Direct Personnel Services Pty Ltd (DPS) and working under a labour hire agreement (LHA) between DPS and host employer Mineral Technologies Pty Ltd (MT). The Court considered issues of liability and apportionment between the employer and host employer, along with the impact of the plaintiff's credibility issues on both liability and quantum.

The background

The plaintiff was employed by DPS and placed at MT's Carrara facility in 2019 to perform demoulding tasks involving heavy fibreglass spirals. The plaintiff alleged that on two separate occasions on 11 July 2019, the fibreglass spirals fell to the floor while he and a co-worker were demoulding them, causing him