§ 111 — Amendment of Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005

111. In the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005 —(a)

in section 2(1), in the definition of “corporation”, replace paragraphs (d) and (e) with —“(d)

any co-operative society;

(e)

any registered trade union; or

(f)

any registered platform work association;”;

(b)

in section 11(2), after “trade union”, insert “or platform work association”;

(c)

in the Fifth Schedule, in paragraph 76, replace sub‑paragraph (2) with —“(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (2A), the amount payable under sub‑paragraph (1)(b) and (c) must not exceed the lower of the following amounts for each employee:(a)

5 months’ salary (whether for time or piecework) in respect of services rendered by the employee to the limited liability partnership;

(b)

$13,000, or an amount that is 5 times the amount (if any) prescribed by the Minister charged with the responsibility for manpower under section 35(b) of the Employment Act 1968, whichever is the higher.

(2A) Where the amounts in sub-paragraph (2)(a) and (b) are the same, the amount payable for each employee under sub‑paragraph (1)(b) and (c) is equal to either of those amounts.”; and

(d)

in the Fifth Schedule, after paragraph 76, insert —“Priority of specified debts relating to platform workers in winding up of platform operator

76A.—(1) This paragraph applies in relation to a winding up of a platform operator that is a limited liability partnership.(2) The following have priority over all unsecured debts of the platform operator, other than the preferential debts specified in paragraph 76(1)(a) to (f), and rank in priority after the debts specified in paragraph 76(1)(f) but before those specified in paragraph 76(1)(g):(a)

first, all earnings payable to a platform worker, including any amount payable by way of reimbursement under any platform work agreement or any award or agreement regulating the conditions under which any platform worker provides a platform service for the platform operator;

(b)

second, all amounts due in respect of any work injury compensation payable to or for the benefit of a platform worker under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 accrued before, on or after the commencement of the winding up;

(c)

third, all amounts due in respect of contributions payable, during a period of 12 consecutive months commencing not earlier than 12 months before and ending not later than 12 months after the commencement of the winding up, by the platform operator, under any written law relating to platform workers’ superannuation or provident funds.

(3) The amount payable under sub‑paragraph (2)(a) must not exceed $13,000.

(4) The debts in each class specified in sub‑paragraph (2) rank in the order specified in that sub‑paragraph but debts of the same class rank equally between themselves, and are to be paid in full, unless the property of the platform operator is insufficient to meet them, in which case the debts of the same class abate in equal proportions between themselves.

(5) Where any payment has been made to any platform worker of the platform operator on account of earnings out of money advanced by a person for that purpose, the person by whom the money was advanced, in a winding up —(a)

has a right of priority in respect of the money so advanced and paid, up to the amount by which the sum in respect of which the platform worker would have been entitled to priority in the winding up has been diminished by reason of the payment; and

(b)

has the same right of priority in respect of that amount as the platform worker would have had if the payment had not been made.

(6) So far as the assets of the platform operator available for payment of general creditors are insufficient to meet any preferential debts specified in —(a)

paragraph 76(1)(a), (b), (c), (e) and (f);

(b)

sub-paragraph (2)(a) and (c); and

(c)

any amount payable in priority by virtue of sub‑paragraph (5) or paragraph 76(6),

those debts —

(d)

have priority over the claims of the holders of debentures under any floating charge created by the platform operator (which charge, as created, was a floating charge); and

(e)

must be paid accordingly out of any property comprised in or subject to that charge.

(7) In this paragraph —“earnings” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Platform Workers Act 2024;

“platform operator” has the meaning given by section 4 of the Platform Workers Act 2024;

“platform work agreement” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Platform Workers Act 2024;

“platform worker” has the meaning given by section 5(1) of the Platform Workers Act 2024.”.