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Employment Law & Industrial Relations

Recent legislative changes have brought about a significant transformation of Australian employment law. It is vital that employers know out how the law affects their business and how their employee obligations may have changed.

The Fair Work Act 2009

The Fair Work Act 2009 (the ‘Act’) introduced a number of significant changes to the workforce. Fair Work Australia now assumes all functions of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) and the Australian Industrial Registry (Registry).

From 1 January 2010, most businesses became ‘national system employers’, which means that those employers and employees are now covered by the Act.

The Act brought about the introduction of two key elements:

1. A set of 10 National Employment Standards
2. Award modernization

Award modernisation refers to the nationalisation and modification of the award (wage) based system in Australia. Its purpose is to reduce the number of awards that exist and operate in the workplace.

There are currently 123 modern awards which came into force on 1 January 2010 and cover most national system employers and employees. It is vital that employers identify which award(s), if any, apply to their workplace.

Unfair Dismissal

The Act revised the law in relation to unfair dismissal. Any employee (other than a casual employee) can bring unfair dismissal proceedings once they qualify to do so, which includes being employed for a minimum period of time.

Fair Work Australia ("FWA") is responsible for resolving all claims for unfair dismissal, replacing all previous authorities.

FWA must determine whether a dismissal was “harsh, unjust or unreasonable” taking into account all the relevant circumstances.

Fair Work Act for Small Businesses

The Act provides some exemptions in certain areas for small businesses. These exemptions recognise that a small business is less likely to invest in human resource management, and have less of an ability to absorb lost time and money.

Ferguson Cannon Lawyers have extensive knowledge and experience in employment law issues. If you are concerned about how the Fair Work Act affects you and your business, or for any other employment law matter please contact Jim Carlile or Zosia Kilmartin on (07) 5443 6600.