What are the changes under the Fair Work Act?

The National Employment Standards and Modern Awards systems sees the expansion of the Work Choices’ safety net from five entitlements for workers to 10. These 10 entitlements will be:

• Maximum weekly hours of work;
• The right of workers to ask for flexible working arrangements;
• Workers’ parental leave and related entitlements;
• Workers’ annual leave;
• Personal/carer’s leave and compassionate leave;
• Community service leave;
• Long-service leave;
• Public holidays;
• Notice of termination and redundancy pay; and
• The provision to workers of a Fair Work Information Statement.

The Modern Awards system consolidates 2,500 awards into about 120 awards with the aim of maintaining all benefits while not increasing costs to small business.

Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson says a fair workplace “builds a balance between the working and home lives of employees.”

He said the aim for the new system was to be just, to engage all parties and ensure all parties were compliant with the law.

Among the changes are that the standard maximum 38-hour week cannot be averaged over a 12 month period. And workers who have had 12 months’ service and are a parent or carer for a child not yet at school can ask for flexible working arrangements, such as new work hours or a change in location.

Workers on parental leave can now ask for an additional 12 months’ leave, at least four weeks before the original leave expires. An employer can refuse this on reasonable “business” grounds.

When workers are asked to work extra hours, employers must consider that worker’s personal circumstances and also take into account overtime payments, penalty rates, what the work entails and its responsibilities, working patterns and notice given on the extra work. Annual leave is now four weeks, while redundancy arrangements have also changed for businesses with 15 or more workers.

To learn more:

Employees – go to http://www.fwa.gov.au or call 1300 799 675 between 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

The site offers information about finding the award you should be on, workplace dismissals and more. You will also find a link to the Fair Work Ombudsman and Fair Work Online.

Small Business employers – Download Small Business & The Fair Work Act from www.fairwork.gov.au or call 131 394 or 131 450 for translations.