Significant workplace reforms have taken place over the last 12 months including the introduction of the Fair Work Bill 2008 (Bill). In response to this climate of change, Freehills’ Employee Relations group has written the Employment & Workplace Relations Guide 2009: A summary of the key laws affecting Australian employers. This guide is a starting point to understand evolving employment law and human resources issues. It provides employers, senior managers, line managers and human resources professionals with a basic overview of the legal issues that arise from the employment relationship.
‘It is not easy for lawyers, let alone employers, to keep up,’ said Nicholas Ogilvie, Senior Associate, Employee Relations. ‘We think the guide will be a useful resource, a single reference for basic and up-to-date information about all areas of employment law. We have tried to make the guide simple and accessible. It avoids excessive and unnecessary detail.’
Analysis of federal and state employment law
Employment & Workplace Relations Guide 2009 goes beyond a review of just one area of employment law. It covers issues that are relevant to employers at the federal and state level. ‘It not only gives basic information on the regulation regime contained in the Workplace Relations Act and the Fair Work Bill, but it also covers other important areas such as the common law, diversity and discrimination, privacy, superannuation and occupational health and safety,’ continued Ogilvie.
A taste of the future for employers
The guide has a chapter titled ‘Labor’s plans for further reform in 2009 and 2010’. It analyses the impact of new workplace reforms. ‘The Bill, released in late November, reveals a strong re-emphasis on collective bargaining and the powers of arbitration by the new “one stop shop”, Fair Work Australia,’ said Ogilvie. ‘This chapter provides a snapshot of the Federal Government’s plans. It observes that, on the one hand, many aspects of the existing arrangements introduced by the Coalition such as pre-strike ballots and responses to unprotected industrial action are retained. But on the other hand, unions and Fair Work Australia are being re-empowered. For example, the proposals will allow (in cases where a breach of an award or agreement is suspected) unions to have access to the employment records of non-members as well as members. There are other union-empowering changes in respect of bargaining and agreement content.’
Surprises within the Fair Work Bill 2008
The guide contains an outline of some of the significant changes from the Bill. A short summary is below.
- Genuine non-union agreements are likely to become a thing of the past, particularly for large employers where unions are traditionally active.
- The transfer of business provisions are extended to cover a much wider range of transactions, including outsourcings and corporate re-organisations. The 12-month limitation on transferring instruments is removed, so transferring instruments now continue until they are terminated or replaced.
- Arbitrated workplace determinations will be available in a wider range of situations, including where protracted industrial action is causing significant economic harm to the bargaining parties and where there are sustained breaches of bargaining orders.
- The traditional freedom of association and discrimination provisions have been consolidated and, in some cases, expanded to create broader protections for employees.
Workplace relations in an international context
The guide also goes beyond Australian law. ‘The guide contains an overview of employment regulation in Asia, and discusses how we can assist employers with regional issues through our Workplace Law and Advisory group in Singapore,’ said Ogilvie.
Employment & Workplace Relations Guide 2009 will be available in February. Copies of the book can be purchased and the proceeds will be directed to a charity supported by Freehills Foundation. Please contact us if you would like a copy.
More information
For information regarding possible implications for your business, contact