Prepared by Addisons for The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers www.icb.org.au
There has been a lot of hype and advertising about the industrial relations reforms, and yet very little concrete information about what it actually means.
Given it was passed on 27 March 2006, we now provide the following preliminary information.The matters discussed below are the areas of work place law that are now applicable to all employer employee relationships
Unfair Dismissal
Small businesses with 100 employees or less are exempt from Unfair Dismissal Laws. However, employees still retain the right to pursue Unlawful Termination / Discrimination claims
Sick Leave – “Personal Leave”
The old sick leave entitlement has been replaced with Personal Leave and the annual entitlement is ten (10) days per year, accruing monthly with no expiry. Personal leave can also be used as ‘carers leave’. Two days unpaid carer’s leave can be taken once an employee has exhausted their paid personal leave.
Medical certificates or statutory declarations should be provided where sick leave or carers leave is taken.
Compassionate Leave
Employees have an entitlement to two days paid compassionate leave per occasion. Compassionate leave can be taken not only upon the death of a family or household member but also to spend time with them where they are suffering from a life threatening illness or injury.
Probation The probation period for new employees has been increased to six months
Long Service Leave
On 1 January 2006, long service leave in Victoria changed so that employees will have earlier access to long service leave, more employees will receive pro rata long service leave on termination of employment and more employees will be entitled to long service leave:
Employees will receive two months long service leave after 10 years service, rather than 3 months long service leave after 15 years service. However, the transitional arrangements are somewhat complex. To soften the impact on employers, employees with less than 15 years service on 1 January 2006 will only be able to take part of their leave before the 15 year mark. To determine when these employees can take their first two months long service leave, only two-thirds of their service before 2006 is counted, however they will get the remainder once they reached 15 years of service.
Employees will be paid out their pro-rata long service leave entitlement after seven years of service, regardless of whether the employee is dismissed or resigns
Employers will be able to direct employees to take long service leave on three months written notice if they cannot agree to the timing.
Employers will not be able to unreasonably refused and employee taking double leave at half pay
Pay during long service leave will be calculated based on the greater of the current rate of pay, the average over the last 12 months, or the average over the last five years
