Employer Action Code: Act

The Fair Work Amendment (Secure Jobs Better Pay) Act has amended the Fair Work Act (FWA) to among other things restrict the use of fixed-term contracts and pay secrecy clauses; strengthen provisions on gender pay equity, anti-discrimination and sexual harassment protections; and improve access to flexible work arrangements. The Act also creates more employee-friendly enterprise bargaining procedures and introduces multiemployer bargaining in some sectors.

Key details

• Fixed-term employment (under one or more consecutive contracts or extensions) will be limited to two years. Exceptions include the employment of individuals earning more than the high-income threshold (AUD $162,000 per year), apprenticeships and trainees, fixed-task agreements requiring special skills and essential work during peak periods.
• The regime for flexible work arrangements under the FWA has been amended to accommodate requests based on family or domestic violence or where the employee is pregnant, to shorten the timetable for reviewing and approving or denying requests, and to require employers to justify refusals based on “reasonable” business grounds (such as cost, impracticality or loss of productivity, adjusted to a degree for the size and nature of the business). Employees will also have the right to appeal decisions (or non-action by the employer within 21 days) with the Fair Work Commission (FWC), which will be empowered to provide binding arbitration of such...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiU2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmxleG9sb2d5L...