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SA sees spike in workers' compensation cases
New figures from the Legal Services Commission of South Australia have found a sharp rise in the number of the state’s residents seeking help to deal with unfair treatment in the workplace.
Naomi Neilson
The commission said its lawyers handled 2,765 employment law inquiries in 2018-19, up from the 2,501 cases that were handled in the previous year. The 11 per cent increase covered issues such as sham contracting, treatment of staff and employment contracts.
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Commission spokesperson Chris Boundy said on the statistics: “People are often in the dark when it comes to their workplace rights, and that lack of knowledge can have terrible consequences for them and their families.
“They can fall victim to workplace treatment that is illegal – especially if they are young workers or have limited English. We are now dealing with more than 50 inquiries a week regarding employment problems.”
The commission said the main issues being faced by South Australians in workplaces include treatment of staff after an injury or extended leave, contract disputes, lodging workplace injury claims and rights of workers when businesses become insolvent.
Mr Boundy said sham contracting has become a major issue with workers: “These are situations where an employer pressures an employee to take out an ABN so they can be paid as a contractor rather than an employee.
“It means the worker misses out on the lawful entitlements relating to wages, leave, superannuation and workers’ compensation,” he said.
The commission also found workers are being incorrectly classified as casual employees and are pressured to take sick leave rather than lodge an inquiry claim.
Employees are also unhappy with the working conditions and treatment that they face when returning to their job after suffering an injury or from taking extended leave, according to the commission.
