August 2015
EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS LEGISLATION BILL
SUMMARY OF KEY PROPOSALS
The Employment Standards Legislation Bill is an omnibus Bill with the stated purpose of
promoting fairer and more productive workplaces by providing enhanced protections and
benefits. Specifically it:
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extends parental leave and payments to more workers and increases the flexibility of the
parental leave scheme through amendments to the Parental Leave and Employment
Protection Act
provides for stronger and more effective enforcement of employment standards (such as
the minimum wage and holidays entitlements) through amendments to the Employment
Relations Act, Minimum Wage Act, Holidays Act and Wages Protection Act
prohibits ‘unreasonable’ practices in employment relationships that lack “sufficient
mutuality” between the parties through amendments to the Employment Relations Act
and Wages Protection Act.
Key measures in the Bill include:
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significantly higher penalties for serious breaches available at the Employment Court
extending accountability to persons other than the employer who are knowingly and
intentionally involved in breaches of employment standards
enhancing the powers of labour inspectors to request information from employers and
share information with other regulatory agencies
an infringement notice regime for breaches of an employer’s obligations in relation to
record keeping and individual employment agreements.
The Bill also prohibits specific practices that undermine the mutuality of obligations in the
employment relationship. These issues were recently highlighted in relation to so-called ‘zero
hours’ contracts (in which employees are required to be available for work, but the employer is
not required to offer guaranteed hours) and unreasonable wage deductions (for example, when
deductions are made from an employee’s wages to compensate the employer for loss or damage
caused by a third party over which the employee could not reasonably be expected to have
control).
The Bill includes a requirement that where the parties to an employment agreement commit to a
set amount of hours, those agreed contracted hours are stated in the employment agreement.
The Bill prohibits:
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employers being able to enforce provisions in an employment agreement requiring
employees to be available for work which an employer is not obliged to make available
unless the agreement provides compensation for that availability. (In the case of salaried
employees an employer and an employee may agree that the employee’s total
remuneration includes compensation for work in addition to agreed hours).
cancelling a shift without reasonable notice or compensation – but the Bill’s definition of
“shift work” is, “any period of work that an employer has agreed to make available to an
employee”, so extends to all work, not just the traditional concept of shift work.
Employment agreements will have to specify the period of notice and the compensation
payable if the required notice is not given prior to cancellation. Notice must be
reasonable. An employee will be entitled to be paid what they would have earnt for
working a shift if a shift is cancelled and the agreement does not comply with the
requirement to specify notice/compensation or the employee has not been advised of
the cancellation until the commencement of the shift or where the remainder of a shift is
cancelled, has not been advised of the cancellation before it commenced.
putting restrictions on secondary employment unless there are genuine and reasonable
grounds and these are set out in the employment agreement.
o Genuine reasons may relate to protecting an employer’s –
 commercially sensitive information; or
 intellectual property rights; or
 commercial reputation, or
 preventing a real conflict of interest.
“unreasonable deductions” from employees’ wages. The Bill does not define the term
“unreasonable deductions” but the policy intent is to prohibit deductions arising from
loss or damage caused by third parties where the employee has no reasonable control.
This change would allow employees to challenge a deduction even where they had
agreed to it – for example, under the terms of a deductions provision within the
employment agreement.
Complementing the Budget 2014 legislation that extends the period of paid parental leave to 18
weeks from 1 April 2016, the Bill broadens the eligibility of the parental leave scheme to better
reflect current work and family arrangements, and provides more flexibility to increase choice for
both employers and employees and support labour market attachment. Key measures in the Bill
include:
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extending parental leave payments to non-standard workers (such as casual, seasonal,
and employees with more than one employer) and those who have recently changed jobs
allowing eligible employees to resign and retain their entitlement to parental leave
payments (this should assist employers by providing for more certainty)
facilitating negotiated carer leave for eligible primary carers who do not qualify for
primary carer leave (because they have not worked a minimum of 6 months with their
present employer)
extending parental leave entitlements to ‘primary carers’ other than biological or formal
adoptive parents
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extending unpaid leave to workers who have been with their employer for more than six
months (but less than 12) as a standard six month leave period (inclusive of the 18 weeks’
paid leave period)
providing for greater flexibility in how that unpaid leave is taken
providing ‘Keeping in Touch’ days so employees can work limited hours during their paid
leave period if they choose.
The Bill currently awaits first reading and referral to the Transport and Industrial Relations Select
Committee. Once referred, the Select Committee will set a closing date for public submissions.
The time frame is expected to be tight.
A more detailed analysis of the Bill can be found here [insert hyperlink to document]
The Bill can be read/downloaded here