Abe is 23 and a university student. He uses his car to deliver flowers for Pretty Blooms Pty Ltd. He has his own Australian Business Number and is one of ten delivery drivers currently working for the company. Abe also works for a horticultural business that maintains and landscapes gardens.

When Abe started working for Pretty Blooms he signed a contract that was headed Contractor Agreement. It said he was not an employee although he might work regular hours and was free to refuse any allocation of work at any time. It also stated that he must comply with their social media policy which required that he not discuss, or implicate in discussions, Pretty Blooms on social media. In addition, the contract made clear he was not entitled to paid personal leave or any accrued annual leave.

Pretty Blooms has an app that is on Abe's mobile phone. Abe uses it to receive instructions on where to deliver when he picks up bouquets and bunches of flowers from the Pretty Blooms warehouse. Abe wears his own clothes sometimes, but other times he wears the PB logo shirt supplied to him when he started working for Pretty Blooms just over a year ago.

Abe enters information into the app that confirms when he has made a delivery. Pretty Bloom uses this information to pay him for each delivery he makes. He works four hour shifts on most weekdays. Sometimes he does two shifts in a row. Abe can give the assigned delivery work to another driver if he wishes, but he hasn't done that yet.

A couple of weeks ago Abe's relationship with the supervisor was stressed when Abe said he couldn't work part of the following week, due to his brother getting married in a rural area many kilometres away. The supervisor suggested Abe come in on his usual days or expect that he wouldn't get any more shifts. Abe was not happy and said that he would not miss a family wedding for work commitments and that Pretty Blooms were obliged to give him work on his usual days when he is available. The supervisor did not agree. He went to his brother's wedding and has not had any more shifts on the days he was away so far. This has meant a 50% drop in his typical weekly income. Abe is concerned the drop in his hours of work might continue.

Recently, Abe was using Facebook and posted a picture of himself and a happy customer receiving flowers, with a note that his work is "the best" when it makes people happy. He happened to be wearing his shirt with the PB logo on it. The next day he removed the photo, realising that Pretty Blooms may not have wanted the incidental exposure, since the photo was taken in front of a recognisable court. His supervisor saw the posting and has reported it to the General Manager.

1. Was Abe an employee, or another type of worker? Refer to decided cases that use the current common law test.

1. For the purposes of this part of the assignment, assume Abe is an employee:Have Abe or Pretty Blooms breached any duties owed to each other?Nb. Discuss common law only. Do not discuss any legislation in your answer.