Queensland Consolidated Acts

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 2016 - SECT 362

362 Orders for payment by prime contractor or clerk of the court

(1) Subsection (2) applies if an employee who served an attachment notice on a prime contractor obtains judgment from a magistrate against the employer for the claim for wages.

(2) The magistrate may order the judgment be satisfied, wholly or partly, by payment of a stated amount—

(a) from amounts paid to the clerk of the Magistrates Court under section 361 (4) ; or

(b) if no amount was paid to the clerk under section 361 (4) or the amount paid was not enough to cover the amount ordered to be paid by the magistrate—by the prime contractor.

(3) In deciding the amount that should be ordered to be paid for an employee’s claim, the magistrate must take into account the existence of claims for wages of other employees of the employer of which the magistrate has knowledge.

(4) Subject to an appeal against the magistrate’s decision, the clerk or prime contractor must pay the amount stated in the relevant order to the employee from the amounts—

(a) paid to the clerk under section 361 (4) ; or

(b) attached and kept in the hands of the prime contractor.

(5) Payment must be made within 21 days after a copy of the order is served on the clerk or prime contractor.

(6) If an appeal is started and notice of it is served, the clerk or prime contractor must continue to keep or hold the amounts from which payment is to be made until the appeal is finally decided or discontinued.

(7) The prime contractor is not liable for an amount that is more than the greater of the following amounts—

(a) the amount actually payable by the prime contractor to the employer when the order is served;

(b) the amount actually payable by the prime contractor to the employer when payment is made under the order.