The Supreme Court of Fiji has ruled that taxi owners can make their own arrangement with any driver with a PSV license without employing them.
The Supreme Court overturned a Fiji court of Appeal ruling handed down in 2006 in the case of Hasan Ali and Transport Workers Union that raised a question about the character of the working arrangements between the owner of a fleet of taxicabs and his drivers.
The Fiji Court of appeal had upheld a High Court ruling at the time in which the High court had ruled that the relationship between the permit holder and the driver it employed was that of an employer and employee.
Under this arrangement the employer was liable to pay FNPF and all other statutory deductions for and on behalf of his employee.
However now PSV permit holders can hire out but not sell their permits to other licensed PSV drivers who may not necessarily be employed by the taxi company.
-FBC
