The widow and children of a food delivery man who was hit by a bus and killed in Sydney are to be paid $830,000 after a landmark court decision found him to be an employee.
Most important points:
- Xiaojun Chen’s family will receive more than $800,000 after food delivery driver was hit by bus
- The Personal Injury Commission determined that Mr. Chen was an employee, not a contractor, of Hungry Panda
- Proponents say the ruling is groundbreaking for workers in the gig economy
Xiaojun Chen, 43, died while riding his motorcycle for Hungry Panda in the suburb of Zetland in September 2020, leaving behind his wife Lihong Wei, their two children and his 75-year-old father, all of whom live in China.
The Transport Workers Union (TWU) said the Personal Injury Commission found that Mr Chen was entitled to compensation from the workers after Hungry Panda admitted he was liable for his death.
Ms Wei, who had to say goodbye to her husband via video call from rural China to a hospital in Sydney, said her husband was working in Australia to send money to her family.
“My kids miss their daddy every day,” she said.
“My daughter is starting to struggle with school and my son lost his father forever when he was only eight years old. Nothing can ever fix this.”
TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine welcomed the decision and praised Ms. Wei for pursuing compensation.
“After two long years, there is finally justice for Xiaojun’s family,” he said.
The TWU has campaigned for food delivery workers to gain rights such as minimum wages and workers’ compensation benefits, regardless of the “contractor” label imposed on their jobs.
Jasmina Mackovic of the law firm Slater and Gordon said the decision was “the first of its kind in terms of workers’ compensation”.
“Gig economy workers and their families are usually denied entitlements because they are considered independent contractors rather than employees, meaning they cannot access workers’ compensation and other benefits such as canceling leave and sick leave,” she said. .
University of Sydney employment relations expert Chris F Wright said it was an important decision.
“It is a decision that goes against the grain of recent decades of legal developments in Australia on employment, which have been very much to the detriment of workers and to the benefit of employers,” he said.
Federal court previously ruled that a Foodora Australia delivery man was an employee when he was unfairly fired.
But in a similar case involving UberEats, federal court found that drivers and riders were contractors because they could choose where and when they worked.
Damien Tudehope, NSW’s Employment Relations Minister, said the “old model” of excluding certain workers’ rights by putting them on contract may no longer be appropriate.
“I think we need to develop a policy regarding the gig economy,” he said.
“The successful outcome of that claim sends a signal that we need to do a lot more work on how we interact with workers involved in the gig economy.”
A NSW House of Lords Survey of Technology for Industry and Workers will publish a report later this year.
Posted † updated