In case you missed it, the Secure Jobs, Better Pay Bill passed Parliament
A number of changes to Australia’s workplace relations laws have been passed by Parliament. The Bill amends workplace relations laws relating to bargaining, job security, gender equity, compliance and enforcement, workplace conditions and protections and workplace relations institutions.
Amendments will be made to existing legislation once the Bill is formally accepted by the Governor-General (Royal Assent).
Key amendments that will occur after Royal Assent are:
Prohibiting pay secrecy
The new laws mean employees will no longer be forced to keep their pay a secret ? From now on employees can decide if they want to share that information or not! ??
Prohibiting sexual harassment in connection to work
While the Act currently protects persons from discrimination because of sex and gender, it does not expressly prohibit sexual harassment ?
Enable the Fair Work Commission to vary enterprise agreements to correct errors
This enables the FWC to vary enterprise agreements to correct errors, defects or irregularities
Initiating bargaining
This will make it much, much easier for unions to negotiate pay deals that cover multiple similar businesses ?✈️?
Fixed-term contracts
Employers will now only be able to offer a maximum of two consecutive contracts or contracts that span two years — whichever of the two is shorter. This aims to put more Australians on permanent contracts and give the job security that comes with it ?
But what will these changes mean for your business? Watch this space, we will keep you posted. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any concerns #wevegotyourback
