Fehlklassifizierung von Skilehrern als Auftragnehmer statt Arbeitnehmer

Definition

Australian case law and Fair Work Ombudsman guidance emphasise that workers who are integrated into the business and work under direction are usually employees, not independent contractors, regardless of being paid per job.[2] In industries with casual, seasonal and per-lesson payments (such as hospitality, tourism and sport), the FWO has repeatedly found systemic underpayments when staff are incorrectly treated as contractors. Court outcomes in similar contexts (e.g. hospitality or gig-style work) commonly require backpayment of wages, unpaid leave entitlements, and superannuation, along with civil penalties. Penalties for serious contraventions of the Fair Work Act can reach up to AUD 93,900 per breach for corporations, and higher for deliberate ‘serious contraventions’.[3] The ATO can, in parallel, raise SG Charge assessments for unpaid super on all prior earnings including per-lesson payments. For a ski school that has, for example, 25 instructors treated as ABN contractors over three seasons, each averaging AUD 22,000 per season in lesson earnings, a later reclassification as employees could create: (a) unpaid super of 11.5% ≈ AUD 189,750 over three seasons; (b) SGC interest and admin of ~AUD 40,000+; and (c) wage underpayments from failure to apply the relevant award (snow sports likely mapped to hospitality or recreation awards) of 10–20%, i.e. AUD 165,000–330,000. Together with civil penalties (for example, a negotiated outcome of AUD 100,000–150,000 in penalties across multiple breaches, based on ranges seen in hospitality underpayment cases), total financial exposure can logically fall in the AUD 400,000–700,000 band for a mid-sized operation, excluding legal and advisory costs. These numbers are LOGIC-based extrapolations using Fair Work penalty caps and typical underpayment percentages from similar enforcement actions; ski-specific public cases are sparse but the regulatory mechanics are identical.

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Ski schools in Australia 🇦🇺 risk AUD 100,000–500,000+ in backpay, super and penalties over several seasons from misclassifying instructors paid per booking. Automating classification checks and integrating lesson data with award-compliant payroll avoids these leakages.

Affected Stakeholders

Resort CEO / General Manager, HR Manager, Payroll Manager, Ski School Director, External employment lawyers and accountants, Ski and snowboard instructors (as claimants)

Related Business Risks