Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
A law firm that engaged a solicitor as an independent contractor has been found to have employed and dismissed her, after the Fair Work Commission ruled that the reality of the working relationship outweighed the terms of their contractor agreement.
The Fair Work Commission’s Damian Sloan dismissed Linkpoint Lawyers and its managing partner and director Jun Pan’s jurisdictional objection, finding that Erica Bosloper was employed as a solicitor of the firm.
Bosloper brought a FWC application alleging her dismissal by Linkpoint Lawyers contravened the Fair Work Act, prompting the firm to challenge the commission’s jurisdiction on the basis that she was an independent contractor rather than an employee.
Bosloper joined Linkpoint in March 2025 under a partnership agreement providing for a 70–75 per cent share of recovered legal fees, while the firm supplied her work equipment, resources and insurance and required her to undertake legal work and business development activities.
In September 2025, Pan instructed Bosloper and other team members to register an ABN or ACN and issue invoices to maintain Linkpoint’s contractor model, highlighting that otherwise the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) would treat them as employees of the firm.
Despite repeated requests and discussions in the ensuing months about withholding 47 per cent of her fees, Bosloper never registered an ABN or provided invoices during her engagement.
Subsequently, the relationship between the two parties began to deteriorate, which Sloan stated was largely put down to Bosloper’s attempts to revisit her financial agreements with the firm.
Pan suspended Bosloper on 28 March 2026 via a letter, stating she was “suspended in [sic] performing services for and on behalf of Linkpoint Lawyers” and revoked her access to the firm’s systems.
The following day, he terminated her agreement with immediate effect, alleging “serious misconduct” and claiming her conduct was “inconsistent with the expectations of a Partner of the Firm”.
Under s 15AA of the Fair Work Act 2009, the commission applied a multifactorial test examining the totality of the relationship, including the contractual terms and how the arrangement operates in practice, to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.
While both sides originally sought to structure the arrangement as an independent contracting agreement, the commission concluded this intention was non-decisive, ruling that the reality of their engagement outweighed contractual designations, especially since Bosloper lacked an ABN, never provided invoices, and did not conduct a business of her own.
The commission discovered that while the agreement contained contractor-like terms, including autonomy, subcontracting and non-exclusivity, things such as Linkpoint providing equipment and conducting performance reviews indicated an employment relationship.
It was found that Bosloper was integrated into Linkpoint’s business, subject to Pan’s control, reliant on the firm’s resources and required to perform unpaid work, with Sloan accepting her submission that she was “completely integrated into [Linkpoint’s] business”.
While the parties “did not intend” that Bosloper would become an employee of Linkpoint, and received no employment benefits, the commission found that the arrangement in practice was more indicative of employment.
Sloan concluded that Bosloper was an employee because she was integrated into Linkpoint’s business, “subject to a level of control” and “reliant on resources necessary to enable her to deliver legal services”, accepting that she “was not in business with Linkpoint; she was in Linkpoint’s business”.
It was found that Bosloper was entitled to make the application to the FWC under section 365 of the Fair Work Act – an application to deal with contraventions involving dismissal – and the respondents’ objection was dismissed.
The matter is to be listed for conference under section 368 of the Fair Work Act on a day to be advised.
Citation: Ms Erica Bosloper v Linkpoint Lawyers Pty Ltd & Mr Jun Pan [2026] FWC 4208
