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'High earning' on-hire worker's unfair dismissal claim blocked

An on-hire casual has failed to convince the Fair Work Commission that his annual earnings couldn't be determined in advance and therefore he wasn't a 'high income' worker without unfair dismissal protection.

The employee worked on a "regular and systematic basis", therefore his earnings could be determined and did exceed the high-income threshold, the Commission found.

The employee had worked as a casual, on-hire, site-based project engineer for BHP Iron Ore Pty Ltd until his dismissal on 7 March 2023, for alleged misconduct.

He subsequently applied for an unfair dismissal remedy against his former employer, Recruitment Solutions Pty Ltd (a division of Chandler Macleod). But Recruitment Solutions argued the employee was not protected from unfair dismissal as he earned more than the high-income threshold ($162k) and was not covered by a modern award or enterprise agreement...