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By Virtual Human Resources
January 2, 2010
The Fair Work Act
The Fair Work Act came into effect on the 1st January 2010. It is the biggest overhaul of the industrial relations system ever conducted. All the states with the exception of WA have moved over to the federal system. State awards will continue until the 31st of December 2010 for sole traders and partnerships but all other companies are immediately covered by the federal system (except for non Pty Ltd companies in WA.)
What does it mean to you?
The National Employment Standards are now effective even if employees are still covered by state awards. This is a safety net containing 10 basic employment entitlements and it even applies to managers earning up to $108,000p.a.
One hundred and fifty modern awards replace most of the old awards and these cover entitlements such as miminum wages, penalty rates and overtime rates but many other factors.
More than one award may apply to a single company based on the type of work performed by the employees.
Some awards will have a transition period for the new pay scales will can be phased in over a number of years. Not all awards have this clause and the new rates apply from the 1st January 2010.
All new employees must be given a copy of the Fair Work Information Statement before or immediately after commencing work. Records need to be kept on the date the statement was given to the employee and the method used give it to them.
As a consequence most company's HR manuals and other documentation will have to be updated. This is then the ideal time to move the responsibility for your HR documentation and award interpretation over to Virtual Human Resources. We will do all the work for you and make sure everything is always up to date. Contact us for more information if you want to outsource the Fairwork workload.