Facts: Beacon Fun Stuff Pty Ltd is a Tasmanian company that was established by brother and sister Altair Rigel and Algol Rigel. Due to a sharp decline in customers it has struggled financially since the beginning of 2020.

In an attempt to re-establish profitability Altair asked his parents Sunny and Monny Rigel, both aged in their 70s and retired to come and assist the business. Both agree so Monny starts assisting with driving a minivan for the business and Sunny commences making souvenirs with another employee Vega Vespasian. For the next month Monny and Sunny attend the business premises in Latrobe fives days a week, Monday 10am until 5pm. Monny proves to be an excellent driver and the tourists love him sharing his knowledge of Tasmanian history with them. Sunny is very creative so makes good suggestions on how to improve the souvenirs she is making with Vega.

After this month, business starts to pick up and Monny and Sunny call a meeting with Altair and Algol. They confirm that they have enjoyed being employed by the business and would like to claim $500 each per week for the weeks they have worked. They also want to have employment contracts put in place to provide them with another 6 months of work at a pay rate of $500 per week. This equates to only approximately $14 per hour which is a low wage for the services that Monny and Sunny can provide.

Altair and Algol believe that their parents have not been employed for the last month, that they were volunteering in the business. They also believe their parents should continue to assist in the business because of the family connection and that therefore they should not be seeking a wage. Altair has in fact heard that no social agreements can ever lead to a binding contract.

Required: Using the legal rules around offer and acceptance, intention of the parties and consideration, provide advice to the parties on the legal position here and on what might be a way forward for this family.

• Please refer to legal cases and legal principles as applicable.