Tony Burke’s amendments to the government’s Closing Loopholes Bill are pragmatic and significant, enhancing Labor’s prospects of being able to navigate the changes through the Senate next year.
Burke will never get support from those employer organisations intent on killing the changes but it is notable that his commitment to amending the casual employment provisions was welcomed by the nations peak hospitality body, the Australian Hotels Association, which now says it can “work with this bill”.
After finding the initial proposals “diabolical”, AHA chief executive Stephen Ferguson had rival employers gnashing their teeth when he called Burke’s commitment “good news for both casuals and employers alike”.
The sentiment was welcome news for a Labor government contending with daily employer lobby outrage as it seeks to swing the policy pendulum back to workers and unions.
Industry groups had expressed concern that the bill’s casual provisions would mean that a casual worker could not be employed with regular patterns of work even if they wanted to be.
Burke doesn’t accept this argument but will amend the bill to clarify that no one single consideration, like a regular pattern of work, can determine if someone is a casual. It will be made clear that it’s possible for a person to work regular hours and still meet the definition of casual employee.
The changes are designed to provide additional certainty and clarity for employers and employees on how the casual definition works.
The government insists deliberate misrepresentations and sham casual arrangements remain unacceptable but recognise the majority of employers act lawfully.
Its removal of the proposed prohibition on misrepresenting permanent employment as casual ensures that penalties will not apply for mistakenly misclassifying an employee.
Burke has moved to clean up uncertainty about the labour hire changes and the view that despite his assurances, service contractors risked being caught by the legislation.
Following constructive discussions with employers, Burke says he will further refine the bill’s language to ensure there are no unintended consequences.
Final judgment should be reserved until the changes are released and scrutinised. But Burke’s decision does increase the likelihood of the government legislating a further round of significant industrial relations reform.
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