Ai Group welcomed the opportunity to make a submission to the Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee’s inquiry into the Fair Work Amendment (Equal Pay for Equal Work) Bill 2022 (Bill).

The Bill would amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) to require that labour hire employers pay their employees covered by certain modern awards, rates of pay that are the same or greater than the rates of pay that host employers pay to their employees (including base rates, incentive payments, bonuses, loadings, overtime rates, penalty rates, allowances and other payments).

The equal pay requirement would apply ‘in relation to a contract or an arrangement entered into on or after the commencement’ of the legislation.

Ai Group does not support the policy intent behind the Bill (i.e. to require labour hire companies to pay their employees at least the same rate of pay as that paid by client businesses to their own employees). Such a policy is unfair, inappropriate and unworkable for the reasons set out in this submission.

There are also several substantial drafting problems with the Bill.