
Issue No 90		30 March 2001

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Employers Told: Casual Workers Have Full-Time Rights

By Mark Morey

A decision by the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales has placed all employers on notice that casual workers have full-time rights and will not be exempt from seeking unfair dismissal.

In a recent case brought by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (NSW) a Dymocks Parramatta sales assistant had been working to a published weekly roster for 11 weeks found she was no longer rostered, even though Dymocks was advertising for casual employees. She had been working between 4 to 15 hours per week. Dymocks told her she would no longer be rostered on. Upon contacting Dymocks, the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (NSW) was told that the young woman's employment had been terminated.

Dymocks argued that under the Industrial Relations (General) Regulation 1996, the young woman was not able to seek unfair dismissal because of clause 5B(1)(d) as she had been employed for a period of less than 6 months service. The 5B provides exemptions from unfair dismissal provisions. Clause 5B(1)(d) states:

(d) employees engaged on a casual basis for a short period except employees who:

(i) are engaged by a particular employer on a regular and systematic basis for a sequence of periods of employment during a period of at least 6 months, and

(ii) would, but for the dismissal, have had a reasonable expectation of continuing employment with the employer.

However, the IRC found that this proposition did not support the exclusion of a casual employee, employed for less than 6 months. The IRC stated "the Regulation has not done, and what we do not think it could do, is to say that engagement on a casual basis for a period of less than 6 months is necessarily engagement for a short period". Thus, it is erroneous to believe that any casual worker with less than 6 months service is excluded so as to remove the jurisdiction of the Commission to determine a claim for unfair dismissal.

As the New South Wales Workforce becomes more casualised this decision is significant victory not only for the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (NSW) but also for all casual workers. It is a clear precedent that will assist all unions in their coverage of casual staff members and reinforces that casual workers are entitled to more than casual rights in their workplace.

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Issue 90 contents

Interview: On the Up and Up
On the eve of new figures showing the slide in union membership may be bottoming out, ACTU secretary Greg Combet takes stock of the state of the movement.

Unions: Organising Theory
Labor Council�s Chris Christodoulou reports back from this week�s ACTU Organising Conference

Economics: The Failure of the Third Way
In his presentation to this week's ACTU Organising Conference, John Buchanan painted a dark picture of the emerging labour market.

History: Emblems of Unity
The Gregory J. Smith Collection of Trade Union badges was auctioned today in Sydney. Smith compiled a book on 763 of his remarkable collection which was published in 1992.

Legal: Della's Compo Plan
Labour lawyer Richard Brennan places the NSW workers compensation reforms under the microscope.

International: East Timor Goes Union
Workers in the fledgling nation have established their equivalent to the ACTU to build a safety net for workers.

Satire: Management for the Post-Industrial World
A new management fad is sweeping the post-industrial world, which has major social and political implications at the macro and micro level. We have called it "Purge Management Strategy" (PMS).

Review: Surviving The Temptations of TV Island
Cultural analyst Mark Morey rakes over the coals of American TV culture to find very little is there.

» Compo Wars: Round One to the Workers

» Breakthrough on Sweat-Shops

» Beazley to Force Executive Disclosure

» Call Centre Union Busters Get Wake-Up Call

» Victorious Workers Paint the Picket Red

» Grenadier Workers Maintain Vigil

» Kembla Water Rats Face Extinction

» Employers Told: Casual Workers Have Full-Time Rights

» Good On Ya Mum, Buttercup�s Leaving Town

» Forty Seven Years of Service Rewarded

» Telstra Called to Account on Legionella

» Record Low Aussie Dollar Adds to Surging Profits

» No Progress on Stonemasons

» Burrow Lobbies on BHP and US Trade Abroad

» Feed the Shangri-La Workers Fund

» STOP PRESS: Union Numbers Up - ABS

» The Soapbox

» The Locker Room

» Trades Hall

» Tool Shed

» Crumby Company

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