I work as a contractor for a company, but am an employee. The work manages and pays my super. It is my primary and only source of work, evn though it is on a per contract (musician) agreement.
Recently I've been told with interstate and overseas trips I have to pay for my own travel insurance.
Wondering if this is right or if it is their responsibility to cover this where I am being asked to travel interstate and overseas for work?
Or if it is more complicated than this?
Ty
will do. ty.
So you work on your ABN? If so, I would think that you would have to pay for the insurance and can then claim it back on tax as a business expense.
Edit:Based on this table, would you say you were an employee or a contractor?
Travel insurance is not tax deductible :(
https://www.ato.gov.au/Business/Income-and-deductions-for-bu…
That's as a business owner…which is probably why it's not being covered for me as they can't claim it back as an expense. As a contractor with an ABN I imagine I can as I require it for work…like being able to claim my car insurance.
Thanks. I work on an ABN yes…but employer is required to pay my super and am covered under their PL policy too.
Who pays for the flights if it’s overseas ?
If you got sick and couldn’t attend surely they’d have insurance ?
The boss does.
If I paid for the flights my CC has travel insurance I could claim on.
But…that would mean the boss doesn't get the CC points for himself. Go figure.
Yes. This is curious. Thought he was asking an innocent question.
I guess the obvious question is, why was he sin-binned for those comments?
I have to say I think the guidelines on 'hate speech' are ridiculously broad, highly subjective and largely meaningless.
It's crazy though, isn't the deal [PS4] Free Theme - For ALL the Players @ PlayStation Store LOL
Oh… it is his opinion though. Oh well…
Why is OP in the penalty box?😲
Due to personal attack comment response which has been deleted.
Opinions are OK, personal attacks not so much.
And yet Fabman didn't get a blatant personal attack deleted on the same thread.
See: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/7458766/redir
I'd be curious to see what the personal attack was in the deleted comment as I suspect it is applied inconsistently.
Its gone now.
> The work manages and pays my super
Then you're an employee. Contractor don't get paid super by the employer.
> it is on a per contract (musician) agreement
It simply means you're an employee WHO has a work contract with specified term. You're not a contractor in this context.
EDIT: Ooops, I'm talking crap, I didnt know contractor can get paid super
Wondering if this is right or if it is their responsibility to cover this where I am being asked to travel interstate and overseas for work?
Employer is not obliged to pay for your travel insurance unless it is written in your work contract. They need to cover your flights though.
This is because travel insurance is considered private expenses therefore not tax deductible.
Travel insurance policies invariably cover items generally private in nature, such as illness, loss of baggage and theft. So, travel insurance costs are generally private in nature and not deductible.
Thanks. So crazy. One would think a business can claim travel insurance where it requires its employees to travel outside of their regular workplace. I get this is more sketchy with contractors…but people that have and office and a desk. Eh. Crazy . Thank you
So lets say OP doesnt get travel cover and something happens .. They hurt themselves somehow, or theres a big storm and flight gets cancelled / moved.
Does OP have to pay out of pocket or would there be some way for him to get the company to pay considering he is over there for work reasons?
How can you be a contractor and an employee.
May be op ment to say a contractor and a worker.
They're a contractor.
For superannuation laws and purposes only, a contractor, if they meet specific criteria, may be required to be treated the same as an employee and be paid super guarantee contributions
https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/Super/Getting-your-super-…
Yes this. It would be great if they had a tick box with criteria that then spat out your rights as the table to work out if you are an employee or contractor finds me selecting different criteria from each side.
ATO unfortunately doesn't make it easy. For anyone.
Just came back from a 4 week overseas work placement. Work paid the travel insurance bill, more than anything to cover themselves for flight cancellations and accommodation rather than anything else. You would argue that whilst there could be some personal benefit there is just as much risk for the employer so in the employers best interest to get travel insurance… its not that expensive anyway
This is what I dont understand. If I paid for the flights myself I'd be able to be covered under Credit Card travel insurance…but I'm not doing that. I specifically asked last night about if the fact that he pays for all the flights then covers any serious issues with flight cancelations and his reply was that it's never happened and even if it did, the airline is likely responsible for it.
Would I be in my rights to ask to pay for my own flights and be reimbursed? Or is this very much whatever any one workplace decides their practice is?
My GF works for CokeSP corporate (not CCA the bottler). If she goes to the USA or NZ for work she has to cover her own travel insurance. She / they only found out about this recently by accident when one of the other employees got sick in the USA.
When I was at Qantas we weren't covered but most people took out a 12 month travel policy that was really cheap and it covered us for all business and leisure travel domestically and overseas.
Current employer covers me for all domestic travel but not to/from work which is covered by my trade union.
That's crazy. If you are a employee, full time, how can a company get away with not being responsible for all necessary travel expenses?
You could put potentially put a clause in your next contract renewal that states the company has to reimburse you for any travel related expenses. Then buy insurance, and put it on your next invoice to them.
The enterprises I've worked for never hired sole traders directly but did so through a consulting or recruiting agency. Every consulting company has that stipulation in their agreement.
Sorry…black out there for a bit..
Thanks for the replies. Ultimately My employer won't pay for travel insurance and I assume would just hire someone else that would. I think it's a pretty ordinary act given the actual work situation - 20 year relationship and ultimately one of only two guys (other than the boss) that has committed fully to the company.
Obviously the law isn't in my favour here. I would have thought given we are on the PL for the company we are also offered some rights.
Guess the best course of action is to suck it up and start my own business where I'm not treated just like everyone else employed.
The reality of what is vs what I thought was.
Cheers and appreciate all the information and advice.
A worldwide, unlimited trip travel policy is between $350-$600. It's a tax deduction. Why burn your bridges over what is probably 1 days pay? Just put you rate up by $10/week
I don't dictate my fee. And it's something that until now had always been paid for by the company. Random change because the boss got stung with excess car insurance on the policy he had out…so now no-ones covered.
Call Fair Work and get their opinion.