Federal Court of Australia rules casual workers entitled to paid leave
By Mimi Becker|2 years ago
'Affects the whole of Australia'
Casual workers could be entitled to billions of dollars worth of back pay after the federal court ruled they are eligible for paid leave.
The landmark court ruling means casual staff who work regular rostered shifts are entitled to paid leave like full-time employees.
The Federal Court upheld a ruling that dump truck driver Paul Skene was not casual after working a regular roster of seven days on seven days off at a coal mine in Queensland for over four years.
The Federal Court upheld a ruling that dump truck driver Paul Skene was not casual after working a regular roster (A Current Affair)
"They were just saying these were the conditions, if you don't like them go, because we can replace you in a second, which was hard because all you wanted to do was provide for your family and everyone's got bills to pay, so you sort of shut up and put up with it really," Mr Skene told A Current Affair.
"These big companies make billions and billions of dollars profit a year and yet they still want to pay for cheap labour which is just not on anymore," he added.
"This is a result for the whole of Australia really, because it doesn't just affect me, it affects the whole of Australia."
There are 2.6 million casual workers in Australia and it is thought around 1.6 million of them work regularly.
There are 2.6 million casual workers in Australia and it is thought around 1.6 million of them work regularly. (A Current Affair)
According to Credit Suisse's analysis, if the healthcare sector had to pay 25 per cent of its casual staff holiday pay, it would cost an extra $166 million a year.
Across the leisure sector, which includes tourism and hospitality, the bill will be $177 million.
In total, across 20 different sectors that amount balloons to $1.3 billion in holiday pay a year.
The decision has been welcomed by union leaders, with CFMEU National President Tony Maher saying this was a long-awaited determination on the definition of casual.
"It's rectified a rort and what will happen is the businesses will then adjust, they won't do what they've been doing," Mr Maher told A Current Affair.
"The truth is casual workers have been ripped off for about a decade… I think this decision really is the courts saying enough is enough," he added.
Casual workers could be entitled to billions of dollars worth of back pay after the federal court ruled they are eligible for paid leave. (A Current Affair)