Wages must be paid in cash or credit to a bank account, unless otherwise agreed. Help for a mate came unstuck when courts ruled a transfer of land assessed at $80,000 could not be counted as payment in lieu of wages.
Friends for over fifty years, Charles Kidd offered to help George Cowan, left with no place to live after a relationship property split. For a period of more than seven years, Mr Cowan lived rent free in an apartment and then a cottage both owned by Mr Kidd. Through a partnership with his son, Mr Kidd owned farms, properties and a rest home all in and around Winton. Shortly after Mr Cowan shifted into the rent-free apartment, Mr Kidd transferred to him land as a site for a new home. This site had a rating valuation of $58,000. It was valued at $80,000 for purposes of the gift to Mr Cowan.
Over a seven year period, Mr Cowan worked for Mr Kidd on an informal basis, driving trucks and assisting both on farms and with building projects. There was no agreed employment contract. No wages were paid. The two subsequently fell out. Mr Cowan sued for unpaid wages. The Employment Court awarded wages calculated at the minimum wage per hour: $104,600. Mr Kidd countered that the $80,000 value of the land should be counted.
The Wages Protection Act requires wages be paid in money only, the Court of Appeal said. The value of the land could not be taken into account. Forerunners of the Act were designed to stop the practice of ‘trucking,’ or barter, where employees were paid with chits or tokens that could be exchanged only for goods at the employer’s store.
Kidd Partnership v. Cowan – Employment Court (28.07.20) & Court of Appeal (21.12.20)
21.021