WorkPac v Rossato: the potential implications

Webinar Series 26 August, 2021

Ian Neil SC, 6 St James Hall Chambers; David Chin SC, 5 Wentworth Chambers; Chris Parkin, 5 Wentworth Chambers; Sally Moten, Partner, Workplace Relations & Safety, Lander & Rogers (Chair)

05:00PM to 06:00PM

This seminar will cover the key issues arising from the High Court’s decision in WorkPac v Rossato, including:
• the extent to which employment contracts are subject to orthodox legal analysis;
• the common law concept of casual employment;
• the relationship between the High Court’s decision and the recent amendments to the Fair Work Act dealing with casual employment;
• the implications of the High Court’s reasoning for the employee/independent contractor distinction;
• potential options for employees whose contracts do not reflect the reality of their employment relationship; and
• the status of the ‘set off’ in employment law.


Ian Neil SC is one of Australia’s leading barristers in the field of employment and industrial law. He appears in courts and industrial tribunals throughout Australia, principally at an appellate level. He is a co-author with David Chin SC of The Modern Contract of Employment (second edition), and teaches and writes about advocacy. Outside his legal practice, Mr Neil SC is the Chair of the Board of Grameen Australia.
 
David Chin SC was called to the bar in 2001 and practices nationally in the areas of employment and industrial law, work health and safety law, and anti-discrimination law. He appears in State and federal courts and tribunals for employers, individual employees, trade unions and public regulators. He is a co-author of The Modern Contract of Employment (second edition), with Ian Neil SC; and is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney.
 
Christopher Parkin is barrister at the Sydney (5 Wentworth) and London Bars (11 King’s Bench Walk) specialising in employment and industrial law, media law and criminal law (including work health and safety). He has appeared in employment cases in the High Court of Australia and the UK Supreme Court. Before being called to the bar he was an associate to a number of judges in the Federal Court of Australia, including Chief Justice Allsop. He is presently the custodian of the Contract of Employment and Foreign Employees chapters of the annual UK practitioner text, Tolley’s Employment Handbook and was the co-author of the JobKeeper Guide.

Sally Moten was admitted as a Solicitor in NSW in 2005. She has a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Hons), and Bachelor of Commerce, both from the University of Sydney. Sally specialises in all aspects of employment and safety law and has spent several years working in large commercial laws firms. She also spent time working in-house at a large NSW Government Agency.  Sally joined Landers and Rogers Lawyers in November 2017 as Special Counsel. She was appointed as a Partner in 2018. Sally provides advice on matters ranging from performance management and disciplinary matters to defending unfair dismissal and discrimination claims, managing industrial disputes, advising on restructuring of organisations, defending WHS prosecutions and providing WHS advice on compliance and safety legislation. Sally joined the CLA’s Board of Directors in 2016.

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