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Is there a Need to Review Contracts of Employment? |
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The Federal Government's Fair Work Act will come into full effect on 1 January 2010.
There are two very significant features of the new employment law regime which are directly relevant to the terms of employment contracts. Those provisions are The National Employment Standards and the new Modern Awards. It is particularly significant that many occupations which were previously award-free will be covered by the much wider scope of the Modern Awards.
The National Employment Standards
The ten matters covered by the NES are:
Maximum weekly hours of work
- This limits maximum weekly hours of work to 38 ordinary hours of work for full time employees or reasonable additional hours. Clearly there will be a need for employers to bear in mind the risk of breach if requirements which are not reasonable. This will be particularly significant in previously award-free areas where there is a culture of long hours.
Requests for flexible working arrangements
- This is a new requirement allowing parents or carers of children under school age, and those who have a child under the age of 18 with a disability, to request a change in working arrangements to assist with the care of the child. Employers need to be aware of these obligations, sensitive to the values reflected in that requirement, and careful in analysing particular cases.
Parental leave
Annual leave
Personal/carer's leave and compassionate leave
Community service leave
Long service leave
Public holidays
Notice of termination and redundancy pay
It is significant that there is now imposed through the NES an entitlement to redundancy for all employees, as previously it tended to be hit and miss whether or not there was an entitlement to redundancy.
Fair Work Information Statement.
Modern Awards
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission has been working on Modern Awards and many of these are now available. Given that awards will now apply to many more employees than in the past, there is a need for employers to examine existing contracts to ensure that there will be no breach after 1 January 2010 and, of course, to take into account the award when drafting contracts executed in respect of future employment arrangements.
Need to Review Contracts
Employers need to be proactive to avoid penalties under the new laws.
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