Recommendation 1
4.78 The committee
recommends section 226 of the Act should be amended to prevent the FWC from
terminating an agreement where workers would be worse off as a result of the
termination.
Recommendation 2
5.59 The committee
recommends that federal and state governments work together to establish labour
hire licensing authorities in each state and territory, and that licensed
labour hire operators be required to provide data on the numbers of workers
engaged.
Recommendation 3
5.60 The committee
recommends that the government legislate to require that a person or
organisation supplying a worker to another person or organisation must:
- be a
licenced labour hire operator; and
- only engage
in such activity through a registered business.
Recommendation 4
5.61 The committee
recommends that, upon establishment of labour hire licensing schemes
(Recommendation 2), the government impose a legal obligation for hosts to use
only licensed labour hire providers.
Recommendation 5
5.62 The committee
recommends that the National Employment Standards be amended to provide casual
employees, whether directly or indirectly engaged, the right to elect to become
a permanent employee after twelve months regular and systematic service with
the same employer.
Recommendation 6
5.63 The committee
recommends that labour hire workers be covered by, be able to participate in
and negotiate collective agreements directly with the host employer.
Recommendation 7
5.64 Consistent with
Recommendation 6, the committee recommends that host employers have
responsibility for ensuring all labour standards provided in the Fair Work
Act are afforded to labour hire workers. Such provisions could draw on the
concept of the Person in Control of a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) definition
found in the Model OHSWHS laws.
Recommendation 8
6.70 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act be amended to allow unions greater
access to workplaces and workers in order to address the need for increased
monitoring and random checks to ensure compliance.
Recommendation 9
6.71 The committee
recommends that the penalties for wage and superannuation theft be
substantially increased in order to provide a more effective deterrence. A
combination of more likely discovery and higher penalties for offending
companies would be beneficial to the community as it would create a level
playing field and remove the current competitive disadvantage that complying
employers suffer in industries where wage theft is widespread.
Recommendation 10
6.72 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act be amended to provide a reverse onus
of proof so that, where employers are alleged to have underpaid staff, the
employer is required to disprove the allegation.
Recommendation 11
6.73 The committee
recommends that employers' obligations regarding record-keeping be reviewed.
Recommendation 12
6.74 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act be amended to require employers to
provide a written statement to every employee, before any work is performed,
setting out the wages and conditions they are being employed under.
Recommendation 13
6.75 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act be amended to empower the Fair Work
Ombudsman to display infringement notices on the premises of businesses found
to be underpaying staff, and that display of such notices be mandatory where an
employer has twice been found to be in breach of relevant laws.
Recommendation 14
6.76 The committee
recommends that the government introduce a program in Australian secondary
schools educating young people on their workplace rights and responsibilities.
Recommendation 15
6.77 The committee
recommends that the government work with unions, migrant and community
organisations, employer groups and employers to address growing exploitation of
migrant workers in Australia.
Recommendation 16
6.78 The committee
recommends that freedom of association provisions within the Fair Work Act
be strengthened to recognise the role of unions in providing protection and
advice to workers and ensure that all workers are informed of their industrial
rights on commencement of their employment.
Recommendation 17
6.79 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act and Migration Act be amended
to:
- state that a visa breach does not
necessarily void a contract of employment;
- provide that the protections of the Fair
Work Act can be enforced even when a person has breached their visa
conditions or has performed work in the absence of a visa consistent with any
other visa requirements.
Recommendation 18
6.80 The committee
recommends that there be an onus of proof placed on employers that they have
genuinely tested the domestic labour market for available workers before being
able to engage temporary visa workers.
Recommendation 19
6.81 The committee
recommends that employers pay a training levy for any and all temporary visa workers
that are engaged. The proceeds from the training levy should be directly
invested to close the skills gaps identified in the domestic labour market.
Recommendation 20
7.37 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act be amended to ensure that all workers
have the protections of the Act and access to the labour standards, minimum
wages and conditions established under the Act.
Recommendation 21
7.38 The committee
recommends that the government review taxation law, including 'alienation of
personal services income' provisions, with a view to addressing unintended
incentives for sham contracting.
Recommendation 22
7.39 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act 2009 be amended to make sham
contracting a strict liability offence.
Recommendation 23
7.40 The committee
recommends that the existing penalty regime for sham contracting be reviewed
with a view to increasing penalties to create a more effective disincentive.
Recommendation 24
7.41 The committee
recommends that, where the legal status of a worker is in dispute, the party
asserting that the worker is an independent contractor be required to establish
this by demonstrating that the worker is operating a business and not working
under that employer's control.
Recommendation 25
8.76 The committee
recommends that the Fair Work Act be amended to ensure that all workers
have the protections of the Act and access to the labour standards, minimum
wages and conditions established under the Act, so that these rights accrue to
dependent and on demand contracting, preventing those arrangements from being
disguised as independent contracting. These amendments should capture the
dependant contractor who is dependent upon a labour hire company, a company
using a work allocation platform or a major corporation using a relationship
power imbalance to exercise control over the worker.
Recommendation 26
8.77 The committee
recommends that the government initiate a review to determine the tax
implications of the gig economy and examine legislative and regulatory
mechanisms to minimise the avoidance of legitimate Commonwealth tax
arrangements.
Recommendation 27
8.78 8.1 The
committee recommends that the government, as a matter of priority, bolster the
employment conditions of workers engaged in the gig economy by requiring
platform providers to verify all platform users comply with minimum standards.
Recommendation 28
8.79 The committee
recommends that the government legislate to ensure that workers in the gig
economy are protected by a minimum wage by requiring platform providers to
provide clear minimum labour price guidelines aligned to the relevant award for
different categories of work, along with information about the relevant union
for the category of work (where multiple unions would have coverage the ACTU
should be provided as a point of referral).
Recommendation 29
8.80 The committee
recommends that the federal government work with state and territory safety
regulators to review health and safety and workers' compensation legislation to
ensure that companies operating in the gig economy are responsible for the
safety of workers engaged in the gig economy.
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