An expert in employment law says new legislation will override a Supreme Court ruling, but that bill is full of holes – and will itself end up being tested in the courts
The union for four Uber drivers who went through the Employment Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court – the highest in the land – to win their case for being employees rather than contractors, may have to start all over again.
The Employment Relations Amendment Bill is at select committee stage and is due back before Parliament on Christmas Eve. It aims to define the nature of contracting to give everyone certainty.
Employment law expert Simon Schofield, a professional teaching fellow at the University of Auckland, says it has a provision in it to exclude ‘specified contractors’, measured by a five-point gateway test.
“If a person is found to be a specified contractor they will not be an employee, and the Employment Relations Act won’t apply.”
Those tests are that there needs to be a written agreement that specifies the worker is an independent contractor; the worker is not restricted from working for others; the worker is not required to be available to work certain times or days or for a minimum period, or is able to sub-contract the work; and the business does not terminate the arrangement for not accepting an additional task.
The hiring business must give workers the chance to seek advice on the written agreement before signing it.
Asked if the bill as written would override the Uber court decision,...
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