Yes, that old chestnut
The Federal Court recently had to consider whether door-to-door
insurance salesmen engaged by Combined Insurance were actually
employees, despite contracts which asserted (strongly and
repeatedly!) that they were contractors. Some of the engagements in
question went back almost 20 years.
In what is becoming something of a trend, Justice Perram found
that the various factual matters which have to be weighed up to
decide this question could be pretty much summed up as
"Were they really working in their own businesses? Or were
they actually working in the business of the insurance
company?"
He decided, emphatically, that they worked in the business of
the insurance company and that it was a sham to regard to them as
conducting their own businesses, even where they formally
contracted to Combined through companies. Those companies were
merely a way to receive payment, but it was the individuals who
were actually engaged, as employees. As a
