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Labour supplier loses dispute over $30k "placement fee"

A labour hire company's "standard placement fee" was in effect a penalty that was unenforceable, a court has ruled.

Queensland District Court Judge Ken Barlow made the finding despite it being clear the client had made a "deliberate attempt" to avoid paying a fee after directly engaging a worker whose on-hire assignment ended.

In late 2022, labour hire company Atlas People Pty Ltd provided the worker, a chef, to Carter Mills Hotels Pty Ltd. The chef worked for its Gladstone-based restaurant, Dicey's Irish Bar and Grill, until the agreement ended in early 2023...