The family of a courier for food delivery app HungryPanda in Australia who was killed while working for the firm will receive approximately AUD 834,000 (approximately USD 574,400) in compensation after an insurer agreed that he was an employee and not a contractor.

According to The Age Australia, the landmark decision opens the door for a wave of workers’ compensation claims in the gig economy and will revitalise unions to push to give tens of thousands of insecure workers more protections in their jobs.

The courier, Xiaojun Chen was killed after being struck by a bus while riding his motorbike in Sydney on 29 September 2020, while working for HungryPanda.

The Guardian Australia reports that the the Personal Injury Commission this month found that the 43-year-old rider had died from injuries sustained in the course of his employment with HungryPanda. Employers Mutual Limited, an iCare workers’ compensation scheme insurance agent, agreed Chen was an employee when he died.

Australia’s Transport Workers’ Union says this is the first case of its kind where a gig worker has been found to be an employee in relation to workers’ compensation.

Under the NSW (New South Wales) workers’ compensation scheme, the dependants of an employee who dies because of a work-related injury are entitled to a lump-sum payment of just over AUD 834,000 (USD 574,400) and weekly payments of AUD 149.30 (USD 102.90) for each dependant child until the age of 16. Chen left behind a wife, two children and his 75-year-old father.

Unlike employees, couriers for firms such as Deliveroo, Uber and HungryPanda do not have the same rights such as the industry minimum wage, workers’ compensation, or unfair dismissal protection.

Michael Kaine, national secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union, said, “The Albanese government has committed to action and must move urgently to lift standards and protect workers. Empowering an independent body to set enforceable standards for all workers regardless of their label will strike at the heart of the exploitation making food delivery so deadly.”

Jasmina Mackovic, a lawyer for law firm Slater and Gordon who represented the family in the case, said the decision did not mean that all gig economy workers were entitled to compensation for deaths or injuries because of differences between companies and workers’ practices, but that the decision potentially opened the door to other pay-outs.

HungryPanda spokeswoman Kitty Lu told The Age that the company was aware of the decision, noted the insurer was making the pay-out and pointed to safety measures implemented since Chen’s death.