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What are the 10 National Employment Standards?
June 24, 2009

The National Employment Standards (NES) will apply come into effect on the 1st of January 2010 and will affect all Federal Award employees earning less than the income threshold. Employers will need to update their employment agreements and policies to reflect these new changes.

The 10 Standards are:

1. Maximum weekly hours of 38hrs per week plus reasonable additional hours.
2. Requests for flexible working arrangements for parents of children under school age.
3. Twelve months unpaid parental leave and requests for additional twelve months.
4. Four weeks annual leave as minimum
5. Ten days personal leave plus two days compassionate leave per occasion.
6. Community service leave
7. Long Service Leave
8. Paid Public Holidays
9. Minimum notice periods and redundancy entitlements
10. Provision of a fair work statement

Employers will need to ensure that their HR documentation reflects these new changes. VHR provide an audit service which will examine your current documentation and provide an action plan on how to bring your business into compliance with the new laws.