Regardless of whether you are an employer or an employee, you must comply with the labor laws of your country. Organizations and businesses are more likely to employ employment lawyers perth who can help them develop internal HR policies that comply with applicable laws.
The task is a bit more difficult for small businesses that employ other staff, however, an employment attorney from a law firm can always be consulted to assist and formulate internal policies.
The real challenge begins when you are an employee, the task of understanding which contract, procurement, or other employment law you fall under is a daunting task. Once you have identified which category you belong to, you can begin to understand what your rights and obligations are under the relevant law.
Luckily for Australian workers and businesses alike, from 1 January 2010, both employers and employees will be covered by the new National Workplace System legislation. This law is called National Employment Standards (NES).
The subject of this company labor law is minimum entitlements to sickness, vacation, public holiday, severance pay, and protection against dismissal. Since the Australian Government’s own website states that “in addition to the NES, workers’ working conditions at the workplace could derive from a modern award, agreement, pre-modern award and state and federal laws”, let’s look at what these national employment standards actually include.
What are the national employment standards?
There are 10 key points relating to employment law in Australia known as the 10 National Employment Standards. Let’s get straight to the point and list these 10 standards with a brief description of each in probation period australia.
- Maximum weekly hours – what is this number you can ask; it’s 38, with reasonable extra hours.
- Personal or care leave – Australian workers are entitled to 10 days of sick leave. The employer may request a medical certificate for this. This is paid vacation.
- Flexible workplace arrangements – this only applies to carers or parents of preschool children or children and young people under 18 with disabilities.
- Parental leave – this allows new or different parents to take up to 12 months of parenting-related leave.
- Annual Holiday – Most Australian workers get 4 weeks of paid holiday each year, with the exception of some shift workers who get 5 weeks.
- Long-Term Leave – This generally means that any employee who has worked for the same company for over 10 years will receive around 8 weeks of paid leave.
- Community Service Leave – This includes unpaid leave as a volunteer or up to 10 days of paid leave as a jury member.
- Severance Pay and Termination – Generally, this requires an employer to give the employee 4 weeks’ severance pay and up to 16 weeks’ notice, depending on the length of service, prior to termination or other termination.
- Explaining and providing information about fair work – This essentially means that employers must make new employees aware of their rights under the Fair Work Act and national labor laws, in the case of Australia – National Employment Standards (NES).
- Public Holidays – Paid time off during Australian public holidays
