Payments based on regular hours and don’t include overtime: WA Supreme Court
A truck driver’s effort on appeal to get overtime included in his workers compensation payment calculations has failed in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
The truck driver had fallen backwards while climbing into the truck in May 2016, injuring his back and head and was unable to return to work at BGC Transport.
The company accepted liability and agreed to make weekly compensation under the WA Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act.
The driver had been paid regular overtime in the course of his BGC employment.
But this was viewed as an allowance rather than weekly earnings.
Read the reasons for an earlier payout to a WA truck driver, here
The case had seen the truck driver fail in having overtime included in a WorkCover WA Arbitration Service hearing ad again in an earlier appeal by the company.
Judge Fiona Vernon granted leave to appeal an earlier finding, as it was a matter of importance, but found in favour of the company, noting the relevant BGC Transport Enterprise Agreement prescribed the remuneration and injury compensation was based on that.
“The Act as enacted expressly excluded overtime payments from compensable weekly earnings,” Vernon’s ruling reads.