Minimum terms of employment

Contributed by Clare Ozich and current to 1 September 2005

FEDERAL

The Workplace Relations Act sets very limited minimum entitlements for employees. These are as follows:

• Parental leave: the Act provides for 12 months’ unpaid leave to the primary caregiver of a child or children, after 12 months of service;
• Equal pay for work of equal value: The Act provides for applications to be made by an employee or trade union or by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner in respect of equal remuneration for male and female workers for work of equal value;
• Termination of employment: remedies are provided where a termination is found to be harsh, Unjust or unreasonable, or to have been made wholly or partly because of any unlawful reason (see below ‘Termination of Employment’); and
• Notice periods: Minimum notice periods or pay in lieu of notice for all award employees and all employees whose salary does not exceed $90,400 (as at 1/7/2004, indexed annually), as follows:

EMPLOYEE’S PERIOD OF CONTINUOUS SERVICE PERIOD OF NOTICE WITH THE EMPLOYER

Less than 1 year	At least 1 week
1 year but less than 3 years	At least 2 weeks
3 years but less than 5 years	At least 3 weeks
5 years and over	At least 4 weeks

STATE

The Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 (WA) prescribes certain minimum standards of employment for all employees in Western Australia, with the exception of persons who are paid wholly by commission; piece workers; certain persons with disabilities in supported employment; volunteers and some persons carrying out duties for the National Trust (WA). Other types of employees may also be excluded by the Regulations from time to time. Employees who are casual employees under the Act are not entitled to some of the minimum conditions of employment.

The minimum conditions provided by this Act include minimum entitlements in relation to the following:

• minimum weekly rates of pay for employees, which are reviewed every 12 months (Adult
rate of $467.40 at 04/07/04);
• sick leave (2 weeks accrued weekly – does not apply to casual employees);
• annual leave (4 weeks accrued weekly – does not apply to casual employees);
• payment for certain accrued annual leave upon termination, except in cases where the employee was dismissed for misconduct;
• payment for public holidays in most cases (does not apply to casual employees);
• 12 months unpaid parental leave (does not apply to casual employees);
• bereavement leave of 2 days upon the death of:
– the spouse or de facto spouse of an employee;
– the child or step-child of an employee;
– the parent or step-parent of an employee; or
– any other person who, immediately before that person’s death, lived with the employee as a member of the employee’s family;
• leave for job interviews if an employee is to be made redundant.

Under the Act, certain information about employment changes by an employer that will have a significant effect on the employee, or about impending redundancy, must be provided to employees, or the employer will face a penalty.

The Act also requires that an employer only makes authorised deductions from an employee’s pay; has provisions in relation to the form and method of payment to be made to an employee; and prevents an employer from directing an employee as to the use of his or her pay.

ENFORCEMENT

Federal system

Application may be made to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission for orders in relation to Federal minimum terms conditions of employment with respect to parental leave and equal pay for work of equal value. (See ‘Termination of Employment’ below for enforcement of Federal minimum entitlements in relation to termination of employment and minimum notice periods).

State system

Enforcement of the minimum terms and conditions of employment set out in the State Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993, and prosecutions of employers for offences under that Act, are carried out in the Industrial Magistrate’s Court.