Object

(1)

The object of this Part is to protect the entitlements of a company's employees from agreements and transactions that are entered into with the intention of defeating the recovery of those entitlements.

Employee entitlements

(2)

The entitlements of an employee of a company that are protected under this Part are:

(a)

wages payable by the company for services rendered to the company by the employee; and

(b)

superannuation contributions (that is, contributions by the company to a fund for the purposes of making provision for, or obtaining, superannuation benefits for the employee, or for dependants of the employee) payable by the company in respect of services rendered to the company by the employee; and

(c)

amounts due in respect of injury compensation in relation to the employee; and

(d)

amounts due under an industrial instrument in respect of the employee's leave of absence; and

(e)

retrenchment payments for the employee (that is, amounts payable by the company to the employee, under an industrial instrument, in respect of the termination of the employee's employment by the company).

An entitlement of an employee need not be owed to the employee. It might, for example, be an amount owed to the employee's dependants or a superannuation contribution payable to a fund in respect of services rendered by the employee.

(3)

The entitlements of an excluded employee (within the meaning of section 556) are protected under this Part only to the extent to which they have priority under paragraph 556(1)(e), (f), (g) or (h).

Employees

(4)

For the purposes of this Part, a person is an employee of a company if the person is, or has been, an employee of the company (whether remunerated by salary, wages, commission or otherwise).

(5)

If an entitlement of an employee of a company is owed to a person other than the employee, this Part applies to the entitlement as if a reference to the employee included a reference to the person to whom the entitlement is owed.