When reasonable hours of work don't make the cut

The recent Federal Court decision in Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union v Dick Stone Pty Ltd¹ concluded that it was unreasonable to require a worker to work 50 hours per week in his employment at a meat wholesaler.

The worker, from Ghana, was employed in 2016 having arrived in Australia only 3 weeks earlier. He was unfamiliar with Australian Law or employee rights and was provided with an 'employment form' and 'employment commencement pack' as his 'Employment Contract'. The Employment Contract described the employee's 'ordinary hours' as 50 hours per week, failed to reference the employee's entitlement to overtime, and didn't mention the relevant Award.

Employees are only required to work 38 ordinary hours per week, and any additional hours per week must be reasonable.