Posts: contractor

The Queensland Government recently passed legislation amending the Criminal Code Act 1899 (the Code) to criminalise wage theft by employers in Queensland.‍The Criminal Code and Other Legislation (Wage Theft) Amendment Bill 2020 (the Bill) was introduced to the Queensland Parliament in response to a Report released in 2018 by the Queensland Parliamentary Education, Employment and Small Business Committee following an inquiry into wage theft in Queensland. The Report identified critical issues in wage theft as well as deliberate action taken by employers to frustrate employees’ attempts to recover entitlements.

There are benefits to engaging individuals as independent contractors where there is a particular task, project or specialised kind of work that needs to be performed.

Where possible, employers should be upfront with their workers about changes to usual business processes and procedures and the reasons for those changes.