To Work or Not to Work? Is There a Duty On the Employer to Provide Work?

By Marilyn Pittard and Graham Smith

What are the legal consequences of an employer continuing to pay an employee without requiring the employee to perform work? Can the employee insist on the employer allotting the employee work?

The decision of the High Court in Blackadder v Ramsey Butchering Services Pty Ltd [2005] HCA 22;BC200502369 (27 April 2005) deals with one situation, in the context of a reinstatement order, where an employer must allocate work to the reinstated employee - it was not sufficient to pay the employee without giving the employee actual work to perform.

(LexisNexis Butterworths Employment Law Bulletin; vol. 11, no 4)