Amendments to Fair Work Act include family friendly and anti-bullying measures

The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 has passed through both Houses of Parliament and received Royal Assent on 28 June 2013.

As a result, the majority of the amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (FW Act) set out in the amendment Bill will take effect on 1 January 2014, although some of the family friendly measures may start operating before that date.

Main amendments to the FW Act

Anti-bullying jurisdiction

A new anti-bullying jurisdiction will enable a worker who reasonably believes that they have been bullied at work to apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order to prevent them from being bullied at work.

Right of entry

There are a number of changes to right of entry, including the lunch room or meal break area being the default venue for union meetings if agreement about the venue cannot be reached between the employer and the union, the arrangements for accommodation and transport to enable a union official to exercise right of entry rights in remote areas and the FWC having the ability to deal with disputes about the frequency of visits by union officials for discussions with employees.

Family friendly measures

Various family friendly measures are included in the amendments to the FW Act. The changes include that any period of special maternity leave taken by an employee will not reduce her entitlement to unpaid parental leave and the increase from three weeks to eight weeks for concurrent parental leave that may be taken by a couple.

There will also be an expansion of the right to request flexible working arrangements to more groups of employees, the requirement to consult with employees about the impact of changes to rosters or working hours (in particular to family and caring responsibilities) and expanding the right for pregnant women to transfer to a safe job.

FWC arbitration

When the amendments come into effect, parties to general protections dismissal disputes will be able to consent to the FWC arbitrating the dispute as an alternative to court proceedings.

Varying modern awards

A new modern award objective will be introduced that requires the FWC, when making or varying a modern award, to consider the need to provide additional remuneration for employees working overtime, unsocial, irregular or unpredictable hours, working on weekends or public holidays, or working shifts.

Role of the FWC

The amendments to the FW Act also clarify the FWC's ability to conciliate, mediate, express opinions and make recommendations when conducting conferences.

Source: Mondaq

www.mondaq.com/australia/x/249796/employee+rights+labour+relations/Amendments+to+Fair+Work+Act+include+family+friendly +and+antibullying+measures&email_access=on