The contract, the payslips, and the workers comp policy all pointed in one direction
A NSW Supreme Court ruling has determined who truly employed a labour hire worker, with separate damages assessments made against two insurers totalling over $465,000, though the plaintiff must elect which verdict to enforce.
On 26 February 2026, Acting Justice Elkaim handed down judgment in Tazleem v Certain Underwriters at Lloyds [2026] NSWSC 124, centred on identifying who actually employed an injured diesel mechanic.
Sheik Abdul Tazleem arrived from Fiji on a student visa in January 2018. He posted his resume on Seek and Indeed, was contacted by Better Truck Repairs Pty Ltd (BTR), interviewed by principal Joe Sultana, and started on 31 January 2018 at $25 per hour for up to 20 hours weekly.
On 9 February 2018, Sultana asked Tazleem to repair a heavy excavator bucket weighing over a tonne. Unable to remove it from the forklift tines, Tazleem tried reaching Sultana without success. The floor manager could not help either. He enlisted an apprentice, and while they worked, the bucket suddenly detached. Tazleem was knocked unconscious and airlifted to Westmead Hospital with neck, elbow and scalp injuries.
What Tazleem did not know was that his actual employer was JP Business Consulting Pty Ltd (JPBC), a labour hire company contracted to supply workers to BTR. JPBC paid his wages from the outset, and he only learned of its existence in early 2019 through his solicitor.
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