The Fair Work Act
The Fair Work Act commenced in part on 1 July 2009 and the substantive parts of the Act will commence on 1 January 2010. At this time Modern Awards and the National Employment Standards (NES) will also come into effect.
As employers, it is important that you prepare your organisation for the introduction of the Fair Work legislation by checking that your current arrangements meet the new requirements. This article provides a checklist to guide you through the process.
Who is Covered?
One significant objective of the legislation is to create a national system of industrial relations legislation. As of October 2009 if you are an employer in Queensland, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory you will be covered by the federal legislation.
In New South Wales and Western Australia, if your organisation is defined as a ‘constitutional corporation’ you will also be under the umbrella of the federal legislation. New South Wales and Western Australia are yet to refer their industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth so it is possible that in these states many organisations will not be covered by the federal legislation but will continue in the State system of industrial relations. If you are unsure, check with your Diocesan Business Manager or the Office for Employment Relations.
When does the Act commence?
The Fair Work Act, including the modern awards and National Employment Standards comes into operation from 1 January 2010.
What are the most significant changes?
Award modernisation is the process of reviewing and rationalising awards to create a system of ‘modern awards’. These awards will apply to particular industries or occupations and will include a Miscellaneous Award. Modern awards will replace all existing awards and may also cover some employees who are currently ‘award-free’.
The National Employment Standards (NES) are a set of 10 employment conditions which must be met by all employers who are covered by the federal system of employment relations. The NES provide for minimum standards in the following areas:
- 38 hour week
- Personal, carer’s and compassionate leave
- Long service leave
- Community service leave
- Unpaid parental leave
- Public holidays
- Flexible work for parents
- Notice of termination and redundancy
- Annual leave
- Fair Work Information Statement
Further details of the standards are available on the Office for Employment Relations website: www.employmentrelations.catholic.org.au
There are substantial changes to the previous Unfair Dismissal regime brought about by the removal of the 100 employee exemption (where employees working for an employer of less than 100 employees could not make a claim). A Fair Dismissal Code for Small Employers has been developed to simplify the process.
Redundancy provisions now provide that a person’s dismissal is not a case of ‘genuine redundancy’ if it would have been reasonable in all the circumstances for the person to be redeployed within the employer’s enterprise or the enterprise of an associated entity of the employer.
So, where do you start?
As employers, here are a few things that you can to do to ensure that you comply with the new legislation:
- Check any existing employment policies for compliance with the NES, particularly those in relation to parental leave, flexible working arrangements and redundancy
- Review your Terms and Conditions of employment against the NES
- Review your standard employment documents such as letters of offer and contracts. They may need to be updated to capture any new requirements in relation to any legislative references, the inclusion of flexibilities, notice periods and redundancy.
- Identify any modern awards that are relevant to employment in your organisation. Classify your employees under these awards, familiarise yourself with any transitional arrangements.
- Compare the terms of any relevant modern award with the employee’s current terms. Note that casual loadings are increased to 25% and part-time employees are entitled to overtime for work outside agreed hours
Useful Links
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Office for Employment Relations.
(Subscribe to the free newsletter to receive the latest information, advice & workshop dates)
>> www.employmentrelations.catholic.org.au
Catholic Commission for Employment Relations
(NSW and ACT employers: Ph (02) 9390 5255)
Fair Work Australia (Details of modern awards)
Where to from here?
Confused? Don’t be, because help is at hand! The Office for Employment Relations can help you with advice, sample policies, documents and templates which you can use in your own organisation.
Contact Jane or Sue on (03) 9663 1775 or email us at oeradvisor@catholic.org.au
Do you have general employment issues or questions that you would like to see in future editions of The Swag? Drop us a line via email with the topic and the subject line “The Swag”.
Susan O’Connor, Director
Office for Employment Relations
