Changes to IR Laws
What has changed?
The Federal Government introduced legislative changes that will impact on most employees between July 2009 and January 2010. Those changes include:
- > The introduction of the Fair Work Act and its associated National Employment Standards
- > Award modernisation aimed at simplifying the current state and federal award systems
- > Changes to enterprise-based and individual workplace agreement arrangements.
How will it affect me?
It depends on the whether your business is incorporated, and where you are employed. Most employees will now be covered by a single national award system, or by the new national employment standards.
Employers covered by the new national system will now need to ensure that information is made available to staff on minimum employment conditions and award coverage. There are new requirements for terminating staff, both for performance and redundancy; and new arrangements for collective bargaining.
Employers can face injunctions, financial penalties and compensation orders for breaches of the legislation.
What should I be doing as an employer?
You need to ensure that you meet the minimum conditions applying to your staff, which may involve changing pay rates, policies and procedures. You should also check that you know which awards apply to your staff.
Employees who are exempt from awards are still covered by the National Employment Standards. High income earners may still be covered by an award, however with a written guarantee of earnings they can be treated as exempt from certain award conditions.
What is different about the National Employment Standards?
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Maximum 38 hours per week
- averaging of hours only permitted over 26 weeks
- Public holidays - no major changes
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Annual leave of four weeks accrued progressively over the year
- Award free employees may cash out annual leave (must retain minimum four week accrual)
-
Personal/ carer’s leave of 10 days paid leave each year
- Employees may take up to two days unpaid carer’s leave on each occasion where no paid leave available
- Compassionate leave up to two days on each occasion a serious threat to life of immediate family member
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Community Service leave
- Jury duty paid up to 10 days (except for casuals)
- Community service leave for volunteer emergency services
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Parental leave
- Up to 12 months leave for all employees and anoption to extend for another 12 months
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Right to request flexible work
- For parents of children under school age or with a disability under 18yrs.
Are there any other changes?
Other Fair Work Act changes include:
- Requirements for keeping employee records and payslip contents are similar to existing ones, except that any individual flexibility arrangements must be recorded in writing
- A written ’guarantee of annual earnings’ for high paid employees (ie. those earning more than $108,300, indexed annually, and covered by a modern award) to exempt high paid employees from award conditions
- A prescribed form of notice of representational rights must be used when proposing an enterprise agreement
- Employers must provide new employees with a Fair Work Information Statement (published by the Fair Work Ombudsman)
- Changed termination provisions, including prohibiting termination of an employee who is temporarily absent due to illness or injury, and a new Small Business Fair Dismissal Code.
How do I know if I’m covered by an award?
Many employees will be covered by an industry or occupation based award.
Industry based awards include for example, the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award. Some members’ businesses may be covered by this award.
Occupation-based awards apply to work that isn’t included in an industry specific award. For example, if your work is clerical and the range of your activities is included in the Clerks Private Sector Award definitions, you will be covered by that award.
You should check with a specialist industrial relations adviser or contact Fair Work Australia to confirm coverage for your occupation or industry.
Where can I find more information?
Information about the Fair Work Act for employees and employers is at http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx