NSW Contractor on ABN - Penalised for Missed Work Hours?

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James McG

Member
20 February 2016
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I work as a contractor regularly for a construction firm, and as such, get paid on my ABN. Foolishly, I missed a day of work, and understandably the company was quite angry. As a "punishment", the company have said they will fine me 3 times the amount from my next invoice payment the amount of hours I would have worked that day. So as an example, my next invoice might have 100 hours worth of work, but they will only pay me 70 hours to account for the 10 hours I missed, times 3......

Working as a contractor on ABN, surely this can't be legal under Employment Law?
 

Tim W

Lawyer
LawConnect (LawTap) Verified
28 April 2014
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You seem like a victim of a thing called "sham contracting".

Even if you're not, look at your "contract" and see what provision there is for this "fine" scam.
And if there isn't one, then start wondering on what basis they have to inflict a "punishment" of this kind.