Soap Opera Employee Sues Network

Home and Away scriptwriter Fiona Bozic is suing Channel Seven, the Daily Mail reports, amid talks of a potential writers’ strike at the network.

Bozic, who has worked for Channel Seven for more than two decades, lodged a Fair Work claim in June in the Federal Court of Australia under breach of general protections provisions.

The veteran soap scriptwriter and producer previously wrote for Network Ten’s Neighbours, with her duties including “the creation of engaging, creative and compelling storylines,” according to her LinkedIn profile.

Bozic declined to discuss her specific claims against Seven with the Daily Mail, and a spokesperson for the network told the outlet, “As this matter is before the courts, Seven will not be commenting.”

Two weeks later, the Daily Mail reported that Home and Away‘s writers were on the brink of a possible strike over claims that they had not been paid decades of deserved superannuation.

The Australian Writers’ Guild is reportedly pushing for the long-running soap’s production company, Seven Productions, to follow an Australian Tax Office ruling on its members’ superannuation entitlements after the ATO found that film and television writers engaged by production companies to produce scripts work for an employer rather than sell a product, entitling them to superannuation.

“Essentially, the writers on Home and Away and the guild have known for many years that Network Seven was legally obligated to pay the writers superannuation,’ the source told the outlet in the Aug. 10 report. “However, Network Seven have refused, claiming there is no legal basis, despite it being clear in the Superannuation Guarantee Act.”

They continued, “My understanding is that far in the past Seven did actually pay superannuation to the writers, although I have only heard this anecdotally,” adding, “However, no writer on the show has been paid it in approximately the last 20 years and the same goes for Fremantle/Neighbours.”