Australia has one of the fairest and evenly implemented labor law systems in the world. Every employee working in the country is entitled to all labor rights listed in the Commonwealth Labor Laws, regardless of their citizenship status. All labor laws are enforced through an official bill, Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), which dictates employers to comply, ensuring that all employees, particularly visa holders, in Australia are treated equally.
In this article, we will go over the main highlights of FWO to better understand the privileges an employed person gets in the Land of Down Under.
National Employment Standards- NES
National Employment Standards are the fundamental criteria that a job should entail. Simply put, a worker in Australia must have the following privileges.
- The maximum number of hours an employee has to complete per week is 38; however, a reasonable amount of hours can be added to it.
- A worker is allowed to ask their employer for flexible working arrangements.
- New parents are to get 12 months of unpaid leaves, plus the option to ask for an additional 12 months of unpaid leaves. The same rule applies to parents who opt for adoption.
- All workers are entitled to have 4 weeks off as their annual leave. Some shift workers may get more time off, but that can vary from employer to employer.
- All employed personnel gets up to 10 days paid personal/carer’s leave.
- People working in Australia are allowed to take 2 days of unpaid carer’s leave and 2 days of unpaid compassionate leave per occasion.
- An employee can get unpaid leaves for voluntary work and up to 10 paid leaves for jury service.
- Employers are to provide FWO to all recruits at the time of hiring. In the case of casual employees, the Casual Employment Information Statement should be provided.
- Casual employees have the right to become permanent employees under certain circumstances.
The Fair Work Act 2009- Law to Prevent Discrimination in Workplaces
Unlawful discrimination in companies is a common occurrence in the corporate world. There is hardly any firm that doesn’t have the condemnable practice of unfair discrimination among employees. The State of Australia has the Fair Work Act 2009 in place to curtail the frequency of instances where an employee faces unjust treatment from their superiors,
The Fair Work Act defines unlawful discrimination as an incident in which an employee or potential employee faces unwarranted hostility from their employer based on the following characteristics.
- Race
- Sex
- Color
- Sexual Orientation
- Age
- Physical or mental disability
- Marital status
- Family or carer’s responsibilities
- Pregnancy
- Religion
- Political views and affiliations
- Social origin
Actions by an employer that qualify as being discriminatory in an office environment include
- Dismissing an employee without good reason
- Hurting/harassing an employee
- Altering an employee’s position to harm them
- Refusal to employ a prospective employee
- Discriminating between employees
- Discriminating against a potential employee on the terms and conditions of the employment offer.
If an employer is found guilty of unfair treatment after investigation, the Fair Work Ombudsman takes enforcement action.
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