Don’t let big business trick you. There’s nothing good about a sham contract

Published: 29/05/2023
Category: Job security
Published: 29/05/2023
Category: Job security

For anyone on an ABN, there’s been a harrowing development: you are more likely to be on a sham contract than a genuine independent contract. 

The number of workers on sham contracting is at record highs, according to new research from the ACTU. Workers on sham or “dependent” contracts outnumber genuinely independent contractors for the first time. 

Workers on a sham contract earn $111 less per week on average than employees, and $243 less than genuine independent contractors. 

That’s the way big business want it – sham contracting is purposely used by dodgy employers to decrease how much they have to pay workers. And if they continue on this trajectory, more and more workers could lose out without even realising.

What is a sham contract?

A sham contract happens when a dodgy employer wants to treat a worker like an employee while denying them all the protections, pay and conditions that come with being an employee. 

Using a sham contract is a tactic. Dodgy employers expect you to work like an employee, even though they pay around $5,800 a year.  

For big business, it’s a cost cutting measure. Plain and simple.  

If any alarm bells are ringing for you right now, you can check whether you are on a sham contract when you should really be an employee. Check out the tell-tale signs below and give your union a call.

Sham contracts on the rise in Australia

Sham contracts aren’t accidents or the result of the occasional bad boss. Sham contracting in Australia is rife among big business and on the rise.

Dodgy employers putting their workers on sham contracts are more likely to be found in the construction, healthcare, social assistance, transport, postal and warehousing industries and sectors. 

Currently, when companies do the wrong thing, they avoid paying workers’ properly by pushing them onto ABNs. Loopholes in work laws let most dodgy employers get away with this. 

The worsening trend in sham contracting is a symptom of how big business has continued to further entrench insecure work into Australia.

Australia needs laws that provide protections and rights for all workers, and that stop some employers using loopholes to cut people’s pay. 

If these changes are not made to keep up with corporate tactics, many more workers will be at risk of losing all their rights. Work laws need to move with the times and protect workers from schemes that are designed to slash wages and take away rights.  

From insecure work to wage theft, big businesses have found too many ways to exploit weaknesses in Australia’s workplace laws. It’s time to close the loopholes.

Protect workers, whatever they’re called

Cover photo credit: Beth Macdonald on Unsplash

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Don’t let big business trick you. There’s nothing good about a sham contract

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