SHAM CONTRACTING (a) The Parties to this Agreement acknowledge that sham contracting has the potential to undermine fair employment practices, erode Employee entitlements and affect the job security of Employees covered by this Agreement. A sham contracting arrangement includes where an employer attempts to disguise an employment relationship as an independent contracting arrangement. This is usually done for the purposes of avoiding responsibility for employee entitlements.
(b) In this clause, "sham contracting" is where:
(i) an employer employs, or proposes to employ, an individual, representing to the individual that the contract of employment under which the individual is, or would be, employed by the employer is a contract for services under which the individual performs, or would perform, work as an independent contractor;
(ii) an employer dismisses, or threatens to dismiss, an individual who is an employee of the employer and performs particular work for the employer in order to engage the individual as an independent contractor to perform the same, or substantially the same, work under a contract for services; or
(iii) an employer employs, or has at any time employed, an individual to perform particular work makes a statement that the employer knows is false in order to persuade or influence the individual to enter into a contract for services under which the individual will perform, as an independent contractor, the same, or substantially the same, work for the employer.
(c) Clause 16.6(b)(i) does not apply if the employer proves that, when the representation was made, the employer did not know and was not reckless as to whether the contract was a contract of employment rather than a contract for services.
(d) Any use of sham contracting is a breach of this Agreement.
(e) Where a sham contracting arrangement has been reasonably alleged and is unable to be resolved at the workplace level, any Party may refer the allegation directly to the Disputes Panel for conciliation and/or resolution under clause 11 of this Agreement. All Parties will cooperate with the requests of the Disputes Panel including requests to provide substantiating information or undertaking an independent audit of their arrangements. For the avoidance of doubt, an affected Employee may appoint a representative in relation to such matters.
(f) Where the sham contracting allegation exists on the Employer’s Project, the Employer will make itself available to assist the disputes resolution procedure.
(g) Where the Disputes Panel Chair deems it necessary due to seriousness of the allegations and/or their findings, the Chair may refer the matter to the appropriate government authority.
(h) Where it is agreed or determined by the Disputes Panel or FWC that a sham contract was in place and the person was in fact an Employee under this Agreement, the calculation for back pay will be calculated on the basis of the hourly rate contained in this Agreement plus the site allowance (if applicable), plus the multi-storey allowance and an additional 75% loading to cover entitlements other than CBUS and Incolink. Any difference between the hourly rate paid to the Employee, plus CBUS and Incolink will form the settlement for breach of this clause. The affected Employee will be re-inducted and fully informed of their entitlements under this Agreement and the Fair Work Act.
(i) The Employer must ensure that a person engaged to undertake building work as an Employee or as an independent contractor is lawfully entitled to be so engaged under Australian law.
(j) The Employer agrees that the Employees will be paid in accordance with the applicable wage rates and allowances as prescribed in this Agreement.
(k) The Employer in particular acknowledges the Sham Contracting Compliance Checklist, as attached at Appendix L, provides a useful tool to ensure ongoing compliance.
