A special panel, similar to that proposed for the road transport industry, could be established within the FWC to set minimum pay and conditions for gig workers in disability, aged and home care, a leading IR academic has told a parliamentary inquiry.
The FWC has found in the absence of a written contract that a sex worker was an independent contractor rather than a casual employee before being dismissed in June for “unacceptable and threatening behaviour".
Platform companies Deliveroo, Menulog and Uber say they are embracing the Federal Government's consultations on the introduction of national minimum IR standards for the gig economy, but insist any changes must be tailor-made and leave room for choice.
The FWC has opened the way for MSS Security workers stationed around three Pilbara Ports Authority sites to start bargaining for a new deal, despite the employer's claims that any pay increases could stymie its ability to renew a soon-to-expire contract.
In a significant decision on the employment status of gig workers, a FWC full bench has quashed a ruling that Deliveroo delivery rider Diego Franco was an employee entitled to protection from unfair dismissal.
In an important decision holding that a largely unpaid advisor was a tech start-up's employee rather than an independent contractor, the FWC has relied on the in-principle acceptance of his "far from comprehensive" proposal and the way in which the contract was performed.
The TWU is seeking the reinstatement of an Amazon Flex courier claimed to have been kicked off the retail behemoth's platform without notice or explanation, in a case testing general carrier provisions in the NSW IR Act while the union calls for equivalent federal protections.
The FWO has lost its appeal against a finding that four allegedly underpaid delivery drivers were independent contractors rather than employees, the judge observing that the case was "much harder" to decide than the recent High Court ruling that guided him.
Food delivery platforms say "inappropriate" independent courier provisions in a Queensland IR Bill will fail gig workers, undermine the Federal Albanese Government's plans to boost protections and create a state versus national approach if passed into legislation.
In a report warning of the "Uber-isation" of care, think tank Per Capita and a company using employees to provide disability services via an online platform are calling for a review of the implications of digital contracting in the sector.
