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工作场所与雇佣
Key changes to Australian employment law
On 6 December 2022, the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs Better Pay) Act 2022 received Royal Assent, amending the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). The key amendments to the Fair Work Act are as follows: 1. Casual Conversion – currently in effect Casual conversion is allowing casual employees to become employed on a permanent basis. It is available for an eligible casual employee, being one who: Has been employed for at least 12 months; Has worked regular pattern of hours during the last six months of employment; and Is able to continue working the regular pattern of hours as a full time or part time employee without significant changes. Employers must offer casual conversion within 21 days of an eligible employee’s 12 month work anniversary. This is an ongoing obligation, and employers must consider an employee’s eligibility each year to make the offer. If a casual employee requests casual conversion, employers must respond in writing by accepting or rejecting within 21 days. An employer must have reasonable grounds for rejecting a request, or not making a casual conversion offer. Employers must also provide casual employees with the ‘Casual Employment Information Statement’ in addition to the Fair Work Information Statement, at the commencement of employment. 2. Pay Secrecy Terms – currently in effect The Fair Work Act now gives employees the right to disclose their salary information. It also prohibits employers from entering into a contract (or other written agreement) with an employee which includes a term which prohibits an employee from disclosing their salary or other terms and conditions reasonably necessary to determine an employee’s salary. Any existing employment agreements which do include a pay secrecy term have no effect, and can no longer be enforced. 3. Prohibiting Workplace Sexual Harassment – effective 6 March 2023 The Fair Work Act will prohibit sexual harassment in connection with work. Employers will potentially be made liable for sexual harassment committed by an employee or agent in connection with work, unless they can prove they took all reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment. 4. Flexible Working Arrangements – effective 6 June 2023 The amendments allow pregnant employees and employees experiencing domestic violence to request flexible working arrangements. In addition to existing obligations on employers to provide reasons for refusing an employee’s request for flexible working arrangements, employers may only refuse a request for flexible work arrangements if they have: (a) Discussed the request with the employee;(b) Genuinely tried to reach an agreement with the employee about making changes; (c) Had regard to the consequences of refusal for the employee; and (d) The refusal is on reasonable business grounds. Employers must also set out the particular business ground that it relies on for refusing the request, and explain how those grounds apply to the request. The Fair Work Commission will now be able to hear and make orders about disputes regarding flexible workplace arrangement requests. 5. Fixed Term arrangements – effective 6 December 2023 The term of a fixed term employment contract must not exceed 2 years (including extensions). Fixed term contracts may not be extended more than once. Some fixed term contracts are excluded from this rule, e.g. those relating to casual employees, seasonal labour, specialised skill employment and high-income employees. From 6 December 2023, employers will need to give ‘Fixed Term Contract Information Statement’ prepared by the Fair Work Ombudsman. This has not yet been made available. Disclaimer: The contents of this publication are general in nature and do not constitute legal advice. The information may have been obtained from external sources and we do not guarantee the accuracy or currency of the information at the date of publication or in the future. Please obtain legal advice specific to your circumstances before taking any action on matters discussed in this publication.
工作场所与雇佣
临时工 vs 正式工
2020年5月20日，澳大利亚联邦法院全席法庭对WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato一案作出判决。 此案聚焦并围绕劳务派遣公司WorkPac Pty Ltd（以下简称 “WorkPac”）和Robert Rossato (以下简称“Rossato”)之间的雇佣关系进行展开。该公司派遣Rossato先生到Glencore公司名下两处位于昆士兰州的矿山工作。Rossato先生作为临时员工 （casual employee）工作的三年半期间，签订的是滚动合同（rolling contract）。作为一名临时员工，他在工资的基础上还获得了25%的额外报酬 - 这是为了弥补临时员工未能享有类似年假等福利的通常做法。 澳大利亚联邦法院全席法庭驳回 WorkPac 认为Rossato先生是临时员工的主张，判定他属于正式员工(permanent employee)。联邦法院基于以下理据，做出上述判决：Rossato先生的工作性质是 “定期(regular)、稳定(certain)、连续(continuing)、持续性(constant)” ，而且有事先被告知工作日程。 Rossato先生有资格享受根据《2009年公平工作法》(Fair Work Act 2009 Cth)和企业协议(Enterprise Agreement)中全国就业标准(National Employment Standards - NES)所规定正式员工应享有的福利，其中包括带薪年假，个人病假/照顾者假，丧病假及法定公共假日等。 这一判决对于雇佣临时员工的雇主，无论是通过直接雇用、外包劳务、转包等不同的雇佣途径，都是不能忽视的重要判决。对于该判决，联邦政府可能会采取干预措施或向最高法院提出上诉，但是在判决发生改变之前，雇主现在应该仔细审查与临时员工之间的雇佣安排，更新与临时员工的合同条款。雇主应重新考量与劳务派遣公司以及派遣员工之间的关系，特别需要注意以下三点: 雇主应该进行阶段性审查与临时员工的雇佣安排，并考虑与临时雇佣相比，兼职或固定期限等其他形式的雇佣关系是否更加合适。 如果临时雇佣关系仍然适用，雇主应该注意合同中是否单独列明临时员工会获得额外报酬，由于临时员工不享受全国就业标准（NES）以及正式员工的应享福利。我们建议雇主与临时员工签署一份声明，表明如果之后被认定为正式雇佣关系，雇主有权要求员工退还之前所获得的额外报酬。 我们建议雇主至少每年定期审查临时雇佣合同。以评估该合同下的雇佣关系是否会被认定为工作日程稳定并且持续的雇佣关系。 如果您认为WorkPac Pty Ltd v Rossato的判决结果，会对您公司现有员工的工作安排有所影响，或者在处理与员工之间的雇佣关系上需要专业的法律意见，请与我们联络。