Australia: The tide of change in labour relations continues

The Federal Government continues its enthusiasm for change in the area of labour relations. As employers work through the last round of changes (Click here to view an earlier DibbsBarker article for more information), another round of changes is on its way.

A Bill to amend the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) has been tabled in Federal Parliament, to expand the grounds of unlawful discrimination. Read more here.

On the proposed re-write of all federal anti-discrimination legislation (Click here to view an earlier DibbsBarker article), there has been an about-face by the Federal Government, with the draft legislation sent back to the drawing board for "deeper consideration".¹

The way people managers handle complaints of bullying, consult with employees, respond to union requests for entry to the workplace and deal with the provision of flexible work arrangements and parental leave may need to be reviewed following the introduction of the Federal Government's Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013, which proposes to implement the next round of amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

The Bill was introduced on 21 March 2013 and referred to a Senate Committee which is due to report on 14 May 2013, when the Federal Parliament is due to resume from recess.

If the Bill is passed, the Fair Work Act will be amended to:

• Introduce a new anti-bullying complaint system, which will enable a worker who believes that they are being bullied to file a complaint with the Fair Work Commission. Read more here.
• Extend the right to request flexible working arrangements to more groups of employees. Read more here.
• Provide further flexibility in relation to unpaid parental leave. Read more here.
• Extend the right of a pregnant employee to request a transfer to a 'safe job'. Read more here.
• Include new consultation obligations in enterprise agreements and awards, which will oblige employers to provide employees with information about changes to their regular roster or ordinary hours of work and consult with employees on the impact any changes will have, including on the employee's family and caring responsibilities. If the Bill is passed, the changes to awards are expected to take effect on 1 January 2014.
• Introduce a new modern award objective to protect penalty rates. The Fair Work Commission will be required to take into account, when making or varying a modern award, the need to provide additional remuneration for employees who work overtime, shift work, unsocial, irregular or unpredictable hours or on weekends or public holidays.
• Change union right of entry rules. Unions will be able to hold meetings in workplace lunchrooms if an alternative place is not agreed. The Fair Work Commission will have the power to make orders if satisfied that the frequency of visits by officials from the same union would require an "unreasonable diversion of an occupier's critical resources". The Commission will also have the ability to deal with disputes concerning accommodation and transport arrangements for union officials seeking entry, meaning that employers will be required to facilitate their access to accommodation at and transport to remote locations.

Following publication by the Fair Work Ombudsman of a very lengthy report on unpaid workers, we have authored a special feature about some of the issues that affect employers, particularly with vocational placements, pre-employment training and voluntary workers. Read more here.

Legislation to increase the investigative powers of the Fair Work Ombudsman to enforce 457 visa working conditions was announced on 18 March 2013, but has not yet been introduced. Finally, on an update to our last article on changes to the penalties for employers who employ illegal workers, the new laws took effect on 14 March 2013.

Footnotes

¹Attorney-General, Minister for Emergency Management, The Hon Mark Dreyfus QC MP and Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator The Hon Penny Wong 'New anti-discrimination laws to cover sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status' (Joint media release, 20 March 2013). Click here to view.

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