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Workplace legislation

Fair Work Act

The Federal Fair Work Act came into effect from 1 July 2009, replacing the Workplace Relations Act. Details of the legislation and its provisions are at www.fairwork.gov.au

Main features of the Fair Work Act include:

increased protection from unfair dismissal
ten minimum employment conditions
standards for good faith collective bargaining
assistance in bargaining for low paid workers
clear rules governing industrial action
widened provisions for unpaid parental leave
rights to request flexible working arrangements

Flexible working arrangements

This aspect of the Fair Work Act will be of particular relevance to the library workforce, 85% of whom are female and which has a comparatively high number of part-time and casual workers. The rights of employees in requesting flexible working arrangements are set out in section 65 of the legislation. An employee who is a parent of, or has responsibility for care of a child under school age may request an employer for a change in working arrangements to assist the employee to care for the child. The entitlement to make such a request also applies to an employee with a child under 18 who has a disability. Changes in working arrangements which may be sought include changes in hours of work, patterns of work and in location of work.

The entitlement to request flexible working arrangements applies to employees who have completed at least 12 months of continuous service with the employer and, in the case of casual workers, will only apply to long-term casual employees. Both requests and the employer's response must be in writing. An employer may only refuse the request on reasonable business grounds and must provide reasons for refusal.

Parental leave

Provisions of the Act covering parental leave are covered by sections 70 to 85. The basic provision is that an employee is entitled to 12 months of unpaid parental leave if the leave is associated with:

i.    The birth of a child of the employee or the employee's spouse or de facto partner; or
ii.   Placement of a child with the employee for adoption.
iii.  There is currently no statutory provision for employers to offer paid parental leave, as distinct from recent undertakings for parental leave payments by the Federal Government announced in the May 2009 budget. Employer-funded parental leave is a matter of agreement with individual employers and are usually referred to in collective agreements. Employees with queries on this aspect of parental leave should refer to their contracts of employment and applicable collective agreements.

Equal remuneration

Of similar interest to the library sector is section 302 of the Fair Work Act covering principles of equal remuneration, defined as 'equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal or comparable value'. Where employees believe that this principle has not been applied in setting remuneration, application for an appropriate order may be made to Fair Work Australia by an affected employee; an employee organisation such as a union which has standing to represent the employees; and the Sex Discrimination Commissioner.

Who is covered by Federal workplace legislation?

An estimated 80% of the Australian workforce is covered by the Fair Work Act. All Commonwealth Government employees, all workers in the ACT, Northern Territory and in most workplaces in Victoria are covered by the Federal industrial relations system, as are workers in organisations deemed trading or financial corporations - that is, as opposed to businesses such as partnerships and sole traders. This coverage stems from relevant sections of the Australian Consitution, including the referral power under which Victoria transferred its industrial relations powers to the Commonwealth in 1996. Other states including South Australia are currently negotiating to transfer their respective industrial powers.

Most State government departments and agencies remain covered by State industrial provisions, unless they are incorporated bodies. For queries about employment laws at State level, reference should be made to State government websites.

Further information is at www.workplace.gov.au/workplace/Publications/News, clicking on 'Australia's New Workplace Relations System'

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