The Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Bill 2022, which will enact the biggest workplace law changes in two decades, has passed the Senate with support from the crossbench. These amendments will be made to existing legislation once the bill receives Royal Assent.
A snap business survey by the Canberra Business Chamber found that:
So what exactly does this bill cover? Here’s a quick breakdown of the key changes.
Multi-employer bargaining
The most controversial aspect of the bill is how it’ll make it much easier for unions to negotiate pay deals that cover multiple similar businesses.
These multi-employer pay deals will exclude:
Additional hurdles are also in place for businesses with less than 50 employees.
Main concerns for this deal:
The founder of Small Business Women Australia, Amanda Rose states “A lot of small business owners are already in debt, and the majority of them will not have the resources – time or money – to pay someone to translate what is happening or to advocate on their behalf.”
“Employees are being told, ‘You have the power, you can demand a pay rise’, but if your business can’t afford to pay this on top of all the other increases they are having to pay, then they shut their doors.”
JobSeeker
While not part of the deal, Senator David Pocock argued during negotiations for an independent annual review of government income-support payments.
This means that 2 weeks out from every budget, a panel of experts will publish a review of payments like JobSeeker, the aged pension, and the disability support pension.
While the government will not be bound to accept the panel’s advice, should they choose to ignore it, they will have to explain why.
Pay Rises
It’s the government’s hope that this bill will help solve the problems rooted in Australia’s IR laws and help promote pay rises in 2 ways:
Pay Secrecy
From now on, employees can no longer be forced to sign “pay secrecy clauses”, clauses that legally stop people from talking to colleagues and comparing how much they’re getting paid.
This is in hopes of increasing remuneration transparency and reducing gender-based pay discrimination, according to the release from Colins Biggers & Paisley.
Flexible Working
Another key part of the changes is about securing people’s right to flexible working arrangements. Under the new legislation, employers will be prevented from unreasonably refusing requests from staff who are trying to balance caring duties with their professional job.
The government’s made it clear they want employers and employees to work together to find a solution but if that doesn’t happen, employees now have the right to involve the Fair Work Commission and go through formal arbitration.
Fixed-term contracts
Instead of people being put on rolling fixed-term contracts, such as for six months or a year, 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.
Labor hopes it’ll mean more people are put on permanent contracts and given the job security that comes with it.
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Source: Harry Hoang | CEO of Tailored Accounts
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