National Workplace Relations System
Fair Work Online
Fair Work Online provides information and advice about Australia’s new national workplace relations system.
To assist you in finding information in relation to current Awards and Minimum Conditions of Employment, follow the link below to the home page of Fair Work Online. http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
From the Fair Work Online home page, you will also find links to Fair Work Australia (the national workplace relations tribunal) and the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The four main information tabs location in the centre of the Fair Work Online home page are:
PayCheck
PayCheck helps employers and employees by calculating the current minimum hourly rates of pay for certain occupation types in accordance with Australia’s new workplace laws.
Fair Work Information Statement
The Statement contains information about:
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The National Employment Standards (NES)
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The effect on an employee’s NES entitlements when there is a transfer of business
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Modern awards
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Agreement making under the Fair Work Act 2009
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Individual flexibility arrangements
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The right to freedom of association
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Termination of employment
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Right of entry (including the protection of personal information by privacy laws)
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The role of the Fair Work Ombudsman and Fair Work Australia
National Employment Standards
From 1 January 2010, employers and employees in the national workplace system are covered by the new National Employment Standards (NES). Under the NES, employees have certain minimum conditions. Together with pay rates in modern awards (which also generally take effect from 1 January 2010) and minimum wage orders, the NES makes up the safety net that cannot be altered to the disadvantage of the employee. In addition to the NES, generally an employee’s terms and conditions of employment come from a modern award, agreement, award and agreement based transitional instruments, minimum wage orders, transitional minimum wage instruments, state or federal laws.
What are the 10 NES entitlements? The NES are set out in the Fair Work Act 2009 and comprise 10 minimum standards of employment. In summary, the NES involve the following minimum entitlements:
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Maximum weekly hours of work – 38 hours per week, plus reasonable additional hours.
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Requests for flexible working arrangements – allows parents or carers of a child under school age or of a child under 18 with a disability, to request a change in working arrangements to assist with the child’s care.
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Parental leave and related entitlements – up to 12 months unpaid leave for every employee, plus a right to request an additional 12 months unpaid leave, plus other forms of maternity, paternity and adoption related leave.
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Annual leave – 4 weeks paid leave per year, plus an additional week for certain shift workers.
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Personal / carer’s leave and compassionate leave – 10 days paid personal / carer’s leave, two days unpaid carer’s leave as required, and two days compassionate leave (unpaid for casuals) as required.
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Community service leave – unpaid leave for voluntary emergency activities and leave for jury service, with an entitlement to be paid for up to 10 days for jury service.
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Long service leave – a transitional entitlement for certain employees who had certain LSL entitlements before 1/1/10 pending the development of a uniform national long service leave standard.
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Public holidays – a paid day off on a public holiday, except where reasonably requested to work.
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Notice of termination and redundancy pay – up to 4 weeks notice of termination (5 weeks if the employee is over 45 and has at least 2 years of continuous service) and up to 16 weeks redundancy pay, both based on length of service.
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Provision of a Fair Work Information Statement – employers must provide this statement to all new employees. It contains information about the NES, modern awards, agreement-making, the right to freedom of association, termination of employment, individual flexibility arrangements, rights of entry, transfer of business, and the respective roles of Fair Work Australia and the Fair Work Ombudsman.
Modern Awards
On 1 January 2010, modern awards started operating. Modern awards establish one set of minimum conditions for employers and employees across Australia who work in the same industries and occupations.
To help determine the correct modern award, employers and employees should:
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Check the name of the modern award
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Check the coverage clause
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Check the classification clause
