Australia: Employment Law round up and changes for 2013-14

The year so far....

The major changes to employment legislation that have come into effect this year include:

Fair Work Australia is now known as the Fair Work Commission

Since 1 January 2013, Fair Work Australia has changed its name and is now called the Fair Work Commission (FWC). It is still in the process of changing all of its forms to reflect the new title. It has also acquired the website www.fwc.gov.au, but www.fwa.gov.au still works.

Unfair dismissal time limit is now 21 days

Also part of the same legislative amendments as the name change, the time limit for applications for unfair dismissal application has been extended from 14 to 21 days. Applications for an extension of time will still be possible where there are extenuating circumstances.

General protections time limit reduced to 21 days

The general protections provisions, including claims of adverse action, are complex provisions that ultimately end up in the Federal Court or Federal Magistrates Court if they are pursued. What the FWC has experienced over the last few years was that because the time limit for general protections applications was 60 days, employees who missed the unfair dismissal cut off were inappropriately attempting a general protections claim. To reduce the incidence of this and ensure a consistent time limitation, the time limit for general protections applications is now 21 days.

This may also have a consequence of reducing the number of general protections applications.

Gender diversity reporting

Reporting figures are steadily emerging as a result of the 1 January 2011 requirement that publically listed companies set gender diversity targets, and report on these targets or provide an explanation about why they are not in place. Annual reporting is to include achievements against gender objectives set by the board, and the proportion of women in senior management and wider company roles.

It appears that just this accountability measure has had a positive influence on female board appointments. Towards the end of 2012, a KPMG study of 211 ASX listed companies found that within that sample, 129 companies disclosed they had established a diversity policy, and 76 of them reported having established measureable objectives for achieving gender diversity.

Most companies in the sample disclosed statistics on women appointments, including senior-level and board representation. Those that had not adopted the ASX diversity recommendations commonly said it was because of their "size and stage".

1 July 2013 - are you ready?

Superannuation

Are you prepared for the first of several periodic increases to the rate of superannuation payable on employee income? If your employees are on a super inclusive package, we recommend that you review the terms of their employment and in particular, the way in which superannuation was expressed, as this may effect whether the increase is payable in addition to the amount earned.

This is also an opportune time to review your employment contracts in general.

For most employers, it will be a simple matter of increasing the rate of superannuation from 1 July 2013, when it becomes 9.25%. The superannuation increases over time are as follows:

Period Super guarantee rate

(charge percentage)

1 July 2003 - 30 June 2013 9%

1 July 2013 - 30 June 2014 9.25%

1 July 2014 - 30 June 2015 9.5%

1 July 2015 - 30 June 2016 10%

1 July 2016 - 30 June 2017 10.5%

1 July 2017 - 30 June 2018 11%

1 July 2018 - 30 June 2019 11.5%

1 July 2019 - 30 June 2020 and onwards 12%

457 Visas

Please see our article regarding changes to 457 visa requirements for employers, particularly satisfying the genuine needs requirement. From 1 July 2013, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) will be checking compliance to ensure that 457 visa holders are being paid at the market rates specified in the employer's approved nomination application and that the job being done by the 457 visa holder matches the job title and description approved in the nomination and visa application.

Trend for 2013 – Tackling Workplace Bullying and other Fair Work Changes

Source: Mondaq