Employment

Relevant Acts:

• Employment Act
• Industrial Relations Act (1979)
• Industrial Relations Reform Act (1993).
• Long Service Leave Act (1958)
• Minimum Conditions of Employment Act (1993)
• Workplace Relations Act (1996)

An employer is required to:

1. Pay at least the minimum wage
   
2. Meet the conditions of the award if applicable
   
3. Comply with the employment agreement or contract
   
4. Pay superannuation of at least at 9% to an approved fund.
   
5. Maintain workers' compensation insurance.
   
6. Provide leave as follows:
1. Annual leave of at least 152 hours per year, or equivalent benefit (e.g. cash) if the employee agrees.
2. Sick leave for the number of hours worked in a two-week period up to 76 hours. This can also be taken as carer's leave.
3. Two days bereavement leave
4. 13 weeks of paid long service leave after 15 years of continuous service, which can now be given pro rata after ten years if the employee wishes.
5. Unpaid parental leave
6. For staff being made redundant, up to eight hours paid leave during the notice period to attend job interviews.
   Note: There is now no specific provision for days off on public holidays.
 
7. Keep records as follows
1. Keep employment records of payments (details are rather onerous for wage earners, especially if under an award)
2. Deduct Pay As You Go taxation
3. Meet reporting requirements to the ATO
4. Give the employee a group certificate.
 
8. Handle redundancies as follows:
1. Give notice of redundancy as soon as early as possible
2. Comply with minimum notice periods for redundancies.
 
9. Refrain from the following:
1. discriminatory employment practices.
2. employing children under defined circumstances.
3. unfair dismissal or dismissal based on prohibited reasons.
 
10. Permit unions to enter a workplace to meet employees and to investigate breaches of industrial relations law.
 

Note: some employees are not covered by the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993.

Federal

• The Australian Fair Pay Commission was established under this Act and it seems to still be active.
• www.wo.gov.au Workplace ombudsman
• www.workplace.gov.au Workplace (see individuals)
• www.workplaceauthority.gov.au (includes provisions of the Workplace Relations Act 1996)
• The Workplace Relations Amendment (WorkChoices) Act (2005) is being phased out.

Some apply to all employees and are little different from the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993. Some provision apply only to those employed under Australian Workplace Agreements, sometimes called in these websites called "workplace agreements" although they are not the same as common law agreements, which fall under the jurisdiction of the states.

Fair Work Act

The new national workplace relations system started on 1 July 2009 and was created by the Fair Work Act 2009. It covers the majority of workplaces in Australia. It replaces the  Workchoices legislation.

Two organizations administer the new system Fair Work Australia (www.fwa.gov.au) and Fair Work Ombudsman (www.fwo.gov.au). There are also specialist Fair Work Federal Divisions of the Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court. Some parts of the new system were implemented straight away and the National Employment Standards and modern awards started on 1 January 2010. Go to: Fair Work Online

Relevant parts:

• One of the information sheets states that the Fair Work Act does not apply to incorporated associations in WA.
• One section states that all work done in an organization under the Act must be paid for, except for students who are in vocational training.

 

CHANGES TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION LEGISLATION

The Workers Compensation and Injury Management Bill 2011 have been developed to implement amendments to the Workers’ Compensation Act as recommended in the WorkCover WA 2009 Legislative Review. In response to the WorkCover Review, the West Australian Government has approved a two-stage program of reform to Workers’ Compensation Laws, which engages 34 of the 66 WorkCover Review recommendations.

Stage One
Deliver changes to correct current legislative anomalies and a number of policy issues.

Stage Two
Development of a new Workers’ Compensation statute based on contemporary language and drafting conventions.

Following are some key changes likely to affect businesses:

Employing Family Members
The definition of a ‘worker’ has been amended. The Act previously excluded a family member who was residing in the employer’s house as being a worker.

Removal of Age Limitations
Within the state of Western Australia, employees of all ages are considered equally to compensate.

Prior to this amendment, injured workers aged 64 years or more were entitled to claim only 12 months of weekly income payments. In addition, compensation was not payable for workers who suffered noise-induced hearing loss after age 65.

Injured workers aged 65 years and older are now able to access weekly income payments under the same terms as younger workers.

The removal of the age-based limit will not operate retrospectively.

Common Law Safety Net
Legislation has been altered to ensure seriously injured workers are entitled to compensation, even if their employer is unlawfully uninsured.

New Dispute Resolution Model
A new dispute resolution system will take effect.

Claim Lodgement
The timeframe for an employer to submit a Workers’ Compensation claim to an Insurer has been extended from three (3) working days to five (5) working days.

A penalty of $1,000 has been introduced and will be payable by employers who fail to meet the statutory requirement within five (5) working days.

Source: FAPSTC E News 8 Feb, 2012

 

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Reference: Employing Someone: A guide for small business (Department of Consumer and Employment Protection; Perth, WA. 2003. Q.v. for a complete explanation.