Employer mandated training

[Caoimhin]

Hey, need help... Wife is employed as a contractor with a large corporate, paid a daily rate and employed through an agency. Her current contract runs through to mid next year. The client is mandating that all of the contractors go and complete two days of training. The training is in sydney, we are in Melbourne. Her agency have told her that they will cover the cost of training, the client will cover the cost of flights and everything else is out of her pocket. The two days are NOT BILLABLE. They will not be paid for these two days of training in addition to being out of pocket for expenses. I'm struggling to see how this is legal / acceptable. Need advice

 

[Tim W]

Who says they are not billable?
If she's a genuine contractor (and I suspect that she isn't,
even if that's the word the company and the agency both use),
then she can just add it to the bill she sends them.

But if she's not billing the company on a Tax Invoice, then she's not a genuine contractor.
Perhaps she is labour hire (in which case, the "agency" is her employer), or
perhaps she is an actually an employee of the company (maybe a fixed term, temporary, or casual employee).
First thing to look for is - how is she paid?

 

[Caoimhin]

Thanks for the response. The distinction between contractor and labour hire is not one that I'm familiar with... I've only ever been employed permanently. It is the agency who has relayed the information about the days being unpaid and hence not billable.

On her pay... the agency pays her. She negotiates a daily rate with the client directly who in turn work with the agency to factor in whatever they skim off the top but from a payroll perspective, it is the agency who pays her wage bi-weekly

 

[Tim W]

So, who is her employer?
Whose name is on her Payment Summary for tax?

 

[Caoimhin]

The agency. No mention of the company anywhere in paperwork

 

[Tim W]

Well then the "agent" should be insisting on their employee being paid the relevant amounts.
I cannot imagine a context where a worker can be made to travel at, even part, their own expense.

 

[Rod]

Not sure this is clear cut. Some 'agencies' or labour hire firms, particularly involving well paid professionals, have a different arrangement. Really need to read the agreement between the agency and your wife. Some agencies act purely as a admin centre collecting money, paying some insurance as part of their fee. Freelance Global before they were wound up in 2015 used to operate like this for some contractors.

Get legal advice if you are really concerned. For 2 days work I don't think it is worth making a fuss over, especially as airfares and the training itself is paid for. See it as a self-improvement/upskilling opportunity.