| Minimum Standards |
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The Fair Work Act 2009 came into effect on 1 July, 2009. It provides for the following:
- the new unfair dismissal laws remove the 100 employee threshold for bringing an unfair dismissal claim so employers with fewer than 100 employees are no longer exempt from unfair dismissal claims (small businesses with fewer than 15 full-time equivalent employees who comply with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code can claim an exemption from unfair dismissal claims – as of 1 January 2011, this definition of small business will revert to straight headcount);
- the "genuine occupational reasons" exemption from unfair dismissal claims has been removed but employers can still terminate employment where there is a genuine redundancy;
- qualifying periods for unfair dismissal apply – 12 months for employees working in small businesses and 6 months for employees working in other businesses;
- income thresholds have been set for unfair dismissal claims;
- the introduction of a requirement to bargain in good faith in collective bargaining;
- changed provisions relating to content of enterprise agreements – prohibited content provisions have been removed – agreements can now include terms regarding matters pertaining to the employment relationship, matters pertaining to the relationship between the employer and employee organisation that are parties to the agreement, deductions from wages for any purpose, and how the agreement will operate;
- a set of 10 legislated National Employment Standards (NES) which take effect on 1 January, 2010 including 38 hour working week, up to 24 months unpaid parental leave, right for parents to request flexible working arrangements, 4 weeks paid annual leave, 10 days paid personal/carer's leave, 2 days paid compassionate leave and 2 days unpaid emergency leave, unpaid community service leave, all national and state public holidays, long service leave, notice of termination and, if employed in a business with 15 or more employees, redundancy pay, a requirement that all employers provide new employees with information about their rights;
- a new role for the courts to enforce awards and the NES – Fair Work Divisions of the Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court can determine claims relating to breaches of the NES, awards, agreements and workplace rights; and
- minimum wage orders to provide a safety net for award-free employees.
Modern awards came into effect on 1 January 2010. These awards are the result of a process of reviewing and rationalising existing federal pre-reform awards and notional agreements preserving state awards (NAPSAs). Many pre-reform awards and NAPSAs will be replaced by modern awards (MA) from 1 January 2010.
A list of pre-reform awards and NAPSAs included in the review process, and the related modern awards, is accessible as an Excel spreadsheet from the award modernisation website.
APESMA is currently updating the Award information and the Awards will be made available to members as soon as possible.
Members requiring advice on their minimum entitlements under the Fair Work Act should contact APESMA as follows:
VIC, SA, WA, NT, ACT, TAS – 1300 APESMA (1300 273 762) | NSW – (02) 9263 6500 | QLD – (07) 3832 1477
