Personal Grievances where Employment Relationship is Triangular

A triangular employment relationship is when you are employed by one entity, but your work is actually under the control or direction of another entity. For example, under the labour for hire model or via a recruitment agency.

The changes: Up until mid-2020, employees could only bring a personal grievance against their employer (e.g. the labour-hire company), and the third party they worked for couldn’t be added to the claim. Now, under changes made by the Employment Relations (Triangular Employment) Amendment Act 2019, the “controlling third party” can be added to the claim against the employer, and potentially be responsible for providing remedies to the employee.

If you contract labour through triangular employment relationships, be aware of the implications for your business and employment practices where you might have third party responsibilities.