Chapter 4 of The Fair Work Bill deals with compliance and enforcement.
Through Fair Work Australia, compliance with workplace laws, awards and agreements will be enforced.
Fair Work Australia replaces the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, the Australian Fair Pay Commission and the Workplace Authority.
The Workplace Ombudsman enjoyed a significant and prominent role in the Workplace Relations regime. The new regime continues that role albeit with a rebadging as the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The Fair Work Ombudsman will have an investigatory and prosecutorial function, which will be carried out by workplace inspectors, now called Fair Work Inspectors.
Within the Federal Court there will be a Fair Work Division and similarly within the Federal Magistrates Court a Fair Work Division.
The Act broadens the powers available to the courts to give so called flexible remedies, including a power to issue injunctions for breaches of an award or workplace agreement.
Of most interest perhaps, the Bill proposes a system for the enforcement of individual contractual entitlements. These are entitlements created under a contract between the employer and the employee in relation to matters which are dealt with in the National Employment Standards ("NES") or a modern award. If one of these entitlements is breached, the employer or employee can apply to the Federal Court/Federal Magistrates Court to enforce the entitlement. A Fair Work Inspector may also bring this action on behalf of the employee or as an adjunct to an action for a breach of an NES, modern award, enterprise agreement or other industrial instrument
Penalties for breaching awards or enterprise agreements are set at a maximum of 60 penalty units. This equates to $6,600.00 for an individual or $33,000.00 for a company. The Federal Court and the Federal Magistrates Court may make such orders as they consider appropriate including the making of injunctions in relation to alleged breaches of civil remedy provisions.
The Federal Magistrates Court will now offer a small claims mechanism. A small claims procedure is presently available in state Magistrates Courts under the Workplace Relations Act. The new Act extends the small claims procedure to the Fair Work Division of the Federal Magistrates Court. The monetary limit will be increased to $20,000.00 (it is currently $10,000.00).
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
