The rise of new technology and changing patterns of work have always co-existed. The rise of platform work and the so-called ‘gig economy’ has brought with it challenges to existing conceptions of work and the law which regulates it, and has upended the existing legal order. In this course, we examine the new modes of work in the gig economy, together with new attempts by civil society, as well as legal and political actors, to regulate it. 

The following topics will be covered:

1. Purposes and theories underpinning the regulation of work
2. What is the gig economy?
3. What is work in the gig economy?
4. Minimum work entitlements: who can access them and what are they?
5. The legal distinction between employment and other work relationships
6. Legal regulation of work in the gig economy
7. Case study: transportation
8. Case study: disability support work
9. Case study: freelance work
10. Work in the gig economy – fairness meets flexibility: perspectives from the United Kingdom
11. Work in the gig economy – fairness meets flexibility: perspectives from Canada
12. Work in the gig economy – fairness meets flexibility: innovative Australian approaches

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

1. Critically analyse patterns of work in the gig economy and their legal regulation
2. Critically analyse and evaluate the law in the context of the public policy challenges posed by work in the gig economy
3. Plan and execute the outcomes of independent research and critically reflect on the material in an extended piece of writing
4. Develop and use communication skills to solve complex legal and regulatory problems

Research-Led Teaching

The lecturers in this course, Associate Professor Pauline Bomball and Mr Cameron Roles, are both active researchers in the field of labour law. Both have research interests in the regulation of the gig economy.

Field Trips

N/A

Additional Course Costs

N/A

Examination Material or equipment

N/A

Required Resources

There is no prescribed text for this course. An e-brick of readings will be made available on the course Wattle site. 

Recommended Resources

Whether you are on campus or studying remotely, there are a variety of online platforms you will use to participate in your study program. These could include videos for lectures and other instruction, two-way video conferencing for interactive learning, email and other messaging tools for communication, interactive web apps for formative and collaborative activities, print and/or photo/scan for handwritten work and drawings, and home-based assessment.

ANU outlines recommended student system requirements to ensure you are able to participate fully in your learning. Other information is also available about the various Learning Platforms you may use.

Staff Feedback

Students will be given feedback in the following forms in this course:

• written comments
• verbal comments
• feedback to whole class, groups, individuals, focus group etc

Student Feedback

ANU is committed to the demonstration of educational excellence and regularly seeks feedback from students. Students are encouraged to offer feedback directly to their Course Convener or through their College and Course representatives (if applicable). Feedback can also be provided to Course Conveners and teachers via the Student Experience of Learning & Teaching (SELT) feedback program. SELT surveys are confidential and also provide the Colleges and ANU Executive with opportunities to recognise excellent teaching, and opportunities for improvement.

Other Information

N/A

Class Schedule

Week/Session	Summary of Activities	Assessment
1	Class 1: Tuesday 26 April 6-8pm (Zoom) What is the gig economy? What is work in the gig economy?
2	Class 2: Wednesday 27 April 6-8pm (Zoom) Purposes and theories underpinning the regulation of work
3	Class 3: Thursday 28 April 6-8pm (Zoom) The legal distinction between employment and other work relationships
4	Podcast 1: Introduction to Australia’s labour law system
5	Podcast 2: Minimum work entitlements: Who can access them and what are they?
6	Class 4: Tuesday 3 May 6-8pm (Zoom) Legal regulation of work in the gig economy
7	Class 5: Wednesday 4 May 6-8pm (Zoom) Work in the gig economy – fairness meets flexibility: perspectives from the United Kingdom
8	Class 6: Thursday 5 May 6-8pm (Zoom) Work in the gig economy – fairness meets flexibility: perspectives from Canada
9	Podcast 3: Work, health and safety in the gig economy
10	Class 7: Tuesday 10 May 6-8pm (Zoom) Case study: transportation Case study: disability support work
11	Class 8: Wednesday 11 May 6-8pm (Zoom) Case study: disability support work (continued) Case study: freelance work
12	Class 9: Thursday 12 May 6-8pm (Zoom) Work in the gig economy – fairness meets flexibility: innovative Australian approaches

Tutorial Registration

There are no tutorials in this course. Course material will be covered in the online seminars and podcasts.

Assessment Summary

Assessment task	Value	Due Date	Return of assessment	Learning Outcomes
Multiple-choice Quiz 1	5 %	02/05/2022	27/05/2022	1
Multiple-choice Quiz 2	5 %	09/05/2022	27/05/2022	1
Multiple-choice Quiz 3	5 %	16/05/2022	27/05/2022	1
Research Essay	85 %	23/06/2022	15/07/2022	1,2,3,4

* If the Due Date and Return of Assessment date are blank, see the Assessment Tab for specific Assessment Task details

Policies

ANU has educational policies, procedures and guidelines , which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and implement them. Students are expected to have read the Academic Integrity Rule before the commencement of their course. Other key policies and guidelines include:

• Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
• Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure
• Special Assessment Consideration Guideline and General Information 
• Student Surveys and Evaluations
• Deferred Examinations
• Student Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure
• Code of practice for teaching and learning

Assessment Requirements

The ANU is using Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the Academic Skills website. In rare cases where online submission using Turnitin software is not technically possible; or where not using Turnitin software has been justified by the Course Convener and approved by the Associate Dean (Education) on the basis of the teaching model being employed; students shall submit assessment online via ‘Wattle’ outside of Turnitin, or failing that in hard copy, or through a combination of submission methods as approved by the Associate Dean (Education). The submission method is detailed below.

Moderation of Assessment

Marks that are allocated during Semester are to be considered provisional until formalised by the College examiners meeting at the end of each Semester. If appropriate, some moderation of marks might be applied prior to final results being released.

Participation

For all courses taught in any mode (whether face to face or online), the ANU College of Law considers participation in the classes offered to be an important part of the educational experience of the program. Students are expected to attend all classes.

If circumstances arise which are beyond a student’s control and they are unable to attend a class, the student should contact the Course Convenor in advance (where possible), so that the convenor can adjust their expectations in relation to numbers for that class. If it is not possible to give advance notice, students should send the convenor an email as soon as possible with evidence to support the reason for failure to attend. 

Examination(s)

N/A

Assessment Task 1

Multiple-choice Quiz 1

Details of task: The quiz will be made available to students at the end of week 1 of classes. There will be ten multiple choice quiz questions covering material from week 1 of classes (Classes 1, 2 and 3, and Podcasts 1 and 2). This assessment task addresses learning outcome 1. Students can log on at any time while the quiz is available to complete the quiz.

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Non-submission of this task will result in a 0 for the task.

Weighting: 5%

Release: 5pm, Friday, 29 April 2022 via Wattle.

Due date: 5pm, Monday, 2 May 2022 via Wattle. If you experience unavoidable and extenuating circumstances and cannot complete the assessment at the due date and time, do not access the assessment and apply for an extension to the ANU College of Law Student and Education Services Team: https://law.anu.edu.au/forms/assessment-extension-request. The College will give you one further opportunity to complete the assessment, at the same time one week later. This will be your final opportunity to complete the task. If you have accessed the assessment, you will not be approved an extension and will need to complete the assessment by the due date and submit a special consideration application for your circumstances to be considered.

Duration: 20 minutes. The quiz is available for completion from 5pm Friday 29 April until 5pm Monday 2 May 2022. Once you log into the quiz, you will have 20 minutes to complete it. The quiz will finish automatically after 20 minutes and any open attempts will automatically close and be submitted by the due date and time so please allow sufficient time to complete the quiz.

Estimated return date: 5pm, Friday 27 May 2022 via Wattle. Quiz feedback will be provided once all students have completed the quiz.

Assessment Criteria: The mark for the quiz will be based on the number of correct responses.

Assessment Task 2

Multiple-choice Quiz 2

Details of task: The quiz will be made available to students at the end of week 2 of classes. There will be ten multiple choice quiz questions covering material from week 2 of classes (Classes 4, 5 and 6, and Podcast 3). This assessment task addresses learning outcome 1. Students can log on at any time while the quiz is available to complete the quiz.

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Non-submission of this task will result in a 0 for the task.

Weighting: 5%

Release: 5pm, Friday, 6 May 2022 via Wattle.

Due date: 5pm, Monday, 9 May 2022 via Wattle. If you experience unavoidable and extenuating circumstances and cannot complete the assessment at the due date and time, do not access the assessment and apply for an extension to the ANU College of Law Student and Education Services Team: https://law.anu.edu.au/forms/assessment-extension-request. The College will give you one further opportunity to complete the assessment, at the same time one week later. This will be your final opportunity to complete the task. If you have accessed the assessment, you will not be approved an extension and will need to complete the assessment by the due date and submit a special consideration application for your circumstances to be considered.

Duration: 20 minutes. The quiz is available for completion from 5pm Friday 6 May until 5pm Monday 9 May 2022. Once you log into the quiz, you will have 20 minutes to complete it. The quiz will finish automatically after 20 minutes and any open attempts will automatically close and be submitted by the due date and time so please allow sufficient time to complete the quiz.

Estimated return date: 5pm, Friday 27 May 2022 via Wattle. Quiz feedback will be provided once all students have completed the quiz.

Assessment Criteria: The mark for the quiz will be based on the number of correct responses.

Assessment Task 3

Multiple-choice Quiz 3

Details of task: The quiz will be made available to students at the end of week 3 of classes. There will be ten multiple choice quiz questions covering material from week 3 of classes (Classes 7, 8 and 9). This assessment task addresses learning outcome 1. Students can log on at any time while the quiz is available to complete the quiz.

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Non-submission of this task will result in a 0 for the task.

Weighting: 5%

Release: 5pm, Friday, 13 May 2022 via Wattle.

Due date: 5pm, Monday, 16 May 2022 via Wattle. If you experience unavoidable and extenuating circumstances and cannot complete the assessment at the due date and time, do not access the assessment and apply for an extension to the ANU College of Law Student and Education Services Team: https://law.anu.edu.au/forms/assessment-extension-request. The College will give you one further opportunity to complete the assessment, at the same time one week later. This will be your final opportunity to complete the task. If you have accessed the assessment, you will not be approved an extension and will need to complete the assessment by the due date and submit a special consideration application for your circumstances to be considered.

Duration: 20 minutes. The quiz is available for completion from 5pm Friday 13 May until 5pm Monday 16 May 2022. Once you log into the quiz, you will have 20 minutes to complete it. The quiz will finish automatically after 20 minutes and any open attempts will automatically close and be submitted by the due date and time so please allow sufficient time to complete the quiz.

Estimated return date: 5pm, Friday 27 May 2022 via Wattle. Quiz feedback will be provided once all students have completed the quiz.

Assessment Criteria: The mark for the quiz will be based on the number of correct responses.

Assessment Task 4

Research Essay

Details of task: Students must submit a research essay in response to one of a selection of essay questions. This assessment task addresses learning outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Nature of Task: Compulsory and non-redeemable. Non-submission of this task will result in a 0 for the task.

Weighting: 85%

Release: 9am, Tuesday, 26 April 2022 via Wattle.

Due date: 5pm, Thursday, 23 June 2022 via Turnitin. Late submissions (without an extension) are permitted, but late penalties will apply. 

Word limit: 5,500 words (including all headings, text, and footnotes, but excluding the bibliography). Students should calculate this using Microsoft Word’s word count function.

Penalties for excess word length: Penalties for excess word length will be applied. Refer to the ANU College of Law website for default word length penalties: https://law.anu.edu.au/current-students/policies-procedures/word-length-and-excess-word-penalties.

Referencing Requirements: Refer to the current edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation. A bibliography must be included.

Estimated return date: 5pm, Friday, 15 July via Turnitin.

Assessment Criteria for Research Essay: Students will be assessed in accordance with the following criteria:

Analysis

a. Clear articulation of the relevant issues and relevant law

b. Presentation of a logical argument that addresses the question and engages with the relevant issues

c. Critical analysis of the relevant issues

Research

a. Use of an appropriate range of primary and secondary sources that are relevant to the topic

b. Depth and breadth of research

Organisation and Structure

a. Clear and coherent structure

b. Construction of a sustained argument throughout the essay

Expression

a. Clear and precise expression

b. Accurate spelling and grammar

Citation and Referencing

a. Citation and referencing which complies with the most recent edition of the Australian Guide to Legal Citation

The marking rubric will be made available on the course Wattle page.

Academic Integrity

Academic integrity is a core part of the ANU culture as a community of scholars. The University’s students are an integral part of that community. The academic integrity principle commits all students to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support, academic integrity, and to uphold this commitment by behaving honestly, responsibly and ethically, and with respect and fairness, in scholarly practice.

The University expects all staff and students to be familiar with the academic integrity principle, the Academic Integrity Rule 2021, the Policy: Student Academic Integrity and Procedure: Student Academic Integrity, and to uphold high standards of academic integrity to ensure the quality and value of our qualifications.

The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 is a legal document that the University uses to promote academic integrity, and manage breaches of the academic integrity principle. The Policy and Procedure support the Rule by outlining overarching principles, responsibilities and processes. The Academic Integrity Rule 2021 commences on 1 December 2021 and applies to courses commencing on or after that date, as well as to research conduct occurring on or after that date. Prior to this, the Academic Misconduct Rule 2015 applies.

 

The University commits to assisting all students to understand how to engage in academic work in ways that are consistent with, and actively support academic integrity. All coursework students must complete the online Academic Integrity Module (Epigeum), and Higher Degree Research (HDR) students are required to complete research integrity training. The Academic Integrity website provides information about services available to assist students with their assignments, examinations and other learning activities, as well as understanding and upholding academic integrity.

Online Submission

You will be required to electronically sign a declaration as part of the submission of your assignment. Please keep a copy of the assignment for your records. Unless an exemption has been approved by the Associate Dean (Education) submission must be through Turnitin.

Hardcopy Submission

For some forms of assessment (hand written assignments, art works, laboratory notes, etc.) hard copy submission is appropriate when approved by the Associate Dean (Education). Hard copy submissions must utilise the Assignment Cover Sheet. Please keep a copy of tasks completed for your records.

Late Submission

Individual assessment tasks may or may not allow for late submission. Policy regarding late submission is detailed below:

• Late submission not permitted. If submission of assessment tasks without an extension after the due date is not permitted, a mark of 0 will be awarded.
• Late submission permitted. Late submission of assessment tasks without an extension are penalised at the rate of 5% of the possible marks available per working day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.
• Late submission is not accepted for tests or examinations.
• Late submission with an extension. To ensure equity for all students, the 5% penalty per working day for late submission of work does not apply if you have been given an extension. Where an extension is granted, the revised due date and submission time is provided in writing. Please note that the revised due date is calculated by including weekends and public holidays. Regardless of which day of the week the revised due date falls on, students who submit after that date are penalised by 5% of the possible marks available for the assessment task per day or part thereof. Late submission of assessment tasks is not accepted after 10 working days after the due date, or on or after the date specified in the course outline for the return of the assessment item.

Referencing Requirements

The Academic Skills website has information to assist you with your writing and assessments. The website includes information about Academic Integrity including referencing requirements for different disciplines. There is also information on Plagiarism and different ways to use source material.

Extensions and Penalties

Extensions and late submission of assessment pieces are covered by the Student Assessment (Coursework) Policy and Procedure. Extensions may be granted for assessment pieces that are not examinations or take-home examinations. If you need an extension, you must request an extension in writing on or before the due date. If you have documented and appropriate medical evidence that demonstrates you were not able to request an extension on or before the due date, you may be able to request it after the due date.

Privacy Notice

The ANU has made a number of third party, online, databases available for students to use. Use of each online database is conditional on student end users first agreeing to the database licensor’s terms of service and/or privacy policy. Students should read these carefully. In some cases student end users will be required to register an account with the database licensor and submit personal information, including their: first name; last name; ANU email address; and other information.
In cases where student end users are asked to submit ‘content’ to a database, such as an assignment or short answers, the database licensor may only use the student’s ‘content’ in accordance with the terms of service – including any (copyright) licence the student grants to the database licensor. Any personal information or content a student submits may be stored by the licensor, potentially offshore, and will be used to process the database service in accordance with the licensors terms of service and/or privacy policy.
If any student chooses not to agree to the database licensor’s terms of service or privacy policy, the student will not be able to access and use the database. In these circumstances students should contact their lecturer to enquire about alternative arrangements that are available.

Distribution of grades policy

Academic Quality Assurance Committee monitors the performance of students, including attrition, further study and employment rates and grade distribution, and College reports on quality assurance processes for assessment activities, including alignment with national and international disciplinary and interdisciplinary standards, as well as qualification type learning outcomes.

Since first semester 1994, ANU uses a grading scale for all courses. This grading scale is used by all academic areas of the University.

Support for students

The University offers students support through several different services. You may contact the services listed below directly or seek advice from your Course Convener, Student Administrators, or your College and Course representatives (if applicable).

• ANU Health, safety & wellbeing for medical services, counselling, mental health and spiritual support
• ANU Access and inclusion for students with a disability or ongoing or chronic illness
• ANU Dean of Students for confidential, impartial advice and help to resolve problems between students and the academic or administrative areas of the University
• ANU Academic Skills and Learning Centre supports you make your own decisions about how you learn and manage your workload.
• ANU Counselling Centre promotes, supports and enhances mental health and wellbeing within the University student community.
• ANUSA supports and represents undergraduate and ANU College students
• PARSA supports and represents postgraduate and research students