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Fair Work Ombudsman

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25.01.2022 We know your fur baby is a beloved member of your family who at times may need extra TLC and suppawt when they get sick. We’re sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but pets aren’t counted as immediate family or a member of the household under the Fair Work Act. This means you can’t use carer’s leave to take time off work to look after them or compassionate leave if they’ve sadly passed away. So, what leave can you use for your pet? The good news is that you can request annual... leave, and your boss can only say no if the refusal is reasonable. Find out more about how annual leave works: https://www.fairwork.gov.au//annual-le/taking-annual-leave

24.01.2022 For part-time employees, working regular hours each week means you know how much leave you’re using when taking time off and when you’ll get public holidays. Most awards have rules about part-time hours of work. Generally, they say that when a part-time employee starts work, their employer must make a written agreement setting out their regular hours of work. The agreement generally must include details like: the employee’s hours of work each week start and finish times ...and the days of the week that they work. Often part-time employees get overtime rates of pay when they work beyond their agreed hours. Check your award (or your enterprise agreement if your work has one of these) to find rules about part-time hours of work arrangements and overtime. We’ve got more info about part-time employment on our website, including the rules about part-time arrangements specific to your industry: https://www.fairwork.gov.au//casual-pa/part-time-employees

23.01.2022 Sick leave is for when you’re sick or if you need to take care of a family or household member who’s sick or has an unexpected emergency, and is usually taken at the request of an employee. Your employer can’t require you to use your sick or carer’s leave. But if you’re displaying symptoms of coronavirus, and your employer’s acting reasonably and based on factual information about health and safety risks, they may be able direct you not to come to work. If you’ve received thi...s kind of direction, you’re not entitled to get paid unless you take paid sick leave or some other type of paid leave, or you’re enrolled in JobKeeper. https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//pay-and-leave-during-

23.01.2022 The coronavirus outbreak has affected everyone differently. If you’re feeling distressed or overwhelmed it’s important to seek help. It’s also important to keep an eye out for loved ones and colleagues. You can find resources to help you, your family and your colleagues on the Head to Health website: https://headtohealth.gov.au/covid-19-support/covid-19

23.01.2022 Tomorrow is R U OK?Day, a reminder to start a conversation that could change a life today, tomorrow and any day it's needed. Learn what to say after R U OK? so ...you can keep the conversation going when someone says they're not OK. Visit www.ruok.org.au/how-to-ask #RUOKDay #theresmoretosay #RUOK See more

22.01.2022 As people start to return to work, it’s important to know what to do if you come into contact with a positive COVID case. We’ve got info on our website if you can’t go to work because you need to quarantine or self-isolate: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//quarantine-self-isola

21.01.2022 Knowing what you’re entitled to can help you spot when something’s not quite right. Our Pay and Conditions Tool can help you check what you should be paid. Remember, if you have an enterprise agreement, you should also take a look at that, as well as your employment contract and any workplace policies. You can use PACT to calculate: your hourly rate, penalties and overtime under an award your sick/carer’s and annual leave balances ... how much notice of termination you should give or receive if you’re entitled to redundancy pay. Check your entitlements here: https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/

21.01.2022 The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured its first penalties under the ‘serious contraventions’ provisions of the Protecting Vulnerable Workers laws, after a former franchisee in Perth underpaid vulnerable workers despite having previously faced Court for similar conduct. The Federal Circuit Court has ordered the company to pay penalties of $191,646. The former general manager of the outlet has been ordered to pay $38,394. The company and general manager breached pay slip laws and... underpaid 11 employees including a number of young and migrant workers a total of $5,111. The employees were back-paid only after the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced its latest investigation. Three of the contraventions relating to failures to provide required information within pay slips and underpayment of both adult and junior minimum wages met the definition of ‘serious contraventions’ under the Protecting Vulnerable Laws because of the repeat offending. Repeat offending is simply unacceptable. Employers should also be aware that we treat cases involving underpayment of young and migrant workers particularly seriously, because we are conscious that they can be vulnerable due to factors such as a lack of awareness of their entitlements and a reluctance to complain. Any workers with concerns should contact us. FWO Inspectors discovered the breaches in this latest litigation when they investigated the business during auditing activities. The breaches in the latest litigation related to underpayment of ordinary minimum hourly rates, penalty rates, minimum shift-pay and an allowance, and regular failures to provide pay slips and to provide lawfully required information within pay slips when they were issued. Read the full story here: https://www.fairwork.gov.au//20201113-tac-pham-penalty-med

19.01.2022 The JobKeeper Payment has been extended! Changes include: an extension until 28 March 2021 a new turnover tests for eligible businesses... two rates for eligible employees based on average hours worked. If you’re already getting JobKeeper or are eligible now with these changes, find out what you need to do in preparation for 28 September. For more info, visit www.ato.gov.au//JobKeepe/JobKeeper-extension-announcement/

18.01.2022 With changing work arrangements, it can be difficult to keep track of your leave entitlements. Especially if you’ve been using some paid leave to top up how much you’re being paid while you’re under a JobKeeper enabling stand down. Just remember, for the time you’re on paid leave, you’re not on a JobKeeper enabling stand down. Our Leave Calculator is a quick and easy way to help check how much annual leave and sick leave you’ve got: https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/leave

16.01.2022 Our thoughts are with all South Australians currently under additional restrictions. If your workplace has been affected we’ve got information about your rights, entitlements and obligations: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//information-for-south

15.01.2022 While there have been some changes to the amounts paid under JobKeeper, one thing that isn’t changing is that you still need to be paid at least minimum wages for any work you perform. Minimum wages should be paid at your usual rate and must include any penalty rates, allowances or overtime applicable. We’ve got more info on the JobKeeper scheme and a Pay Calculator to check minimum award rates here: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//jobkeeper-wage-subsid

13.01.2022 Most of the time your award will say that you should get your final pay within 7 days of your last day of work. Your agreement might say something similar. But it’s best to check your award or enterprise agreement as they may have different rules. You should take a look at your employment contract and any workplace policies, as well. Our online calculators can help you work out what should be in your final pay:... https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//ending-employment-and See more

13.01.2022 From 28 September 2020, certain employers, known as ‘legacy’ employers, can use some of the JobKeeper provisions (with some changes) for their previously eligible employees if they: * previously participated in the JobKeeper scheme, but no longer qualify (or choose not to participate) from 28 September 2020 * can demonstrate at least a 10% decline in turnover for a relevant quarter and get a certificate from an eligible financial service provider or make a statutory declarati...on if they are a small business employer (employers who have less than 15 employees). We’ve got more information about legacy employers here: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//job/legacy-employers

12.01.2022 Is your workplace ready for National Safe Work Month? There is still time to download and customise the campaign kit resources to help you promote work health and safety during October. To join National Safe Work Month, go to safeworkmonth.swa.gov.au #safeworkmonth #safetytogether

12.01.2022 The JobKeeper provisions in the Fair Work Act have been extended to continue past 28 September 2020, with some changes. One of the changes is that qualifying employers can no longer use the original JobKeeper provisions to make agreements with eligible employees to take annual leave at half pay, or make requests (which employees couldn’t unreasonably refuse) that employees take some annual leave. From September 28, any agreement to take annual leave that was made under these ...provisions stops applying. After this date, the usual rules about taking annual leave apply. Your award, enterprise agreement, employment contract or workplace policy may set out how to take annual leave, including if employees can be directed to use leave. We’ve got more info about taking annual leave here: https://www.fairwork.gov.au//annual-le/taking-annual-leave

09.01.2022 The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $1,212,727 in unpaid wages for 1351 workers in the fast food, restaurant, café and retail sectors prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between December 2018 and March 2020, Fair Work Inspectors targeted popular food precincts in Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as revisiting food and retail businesses around the country that had previously breached workplace laws. The FWO conducted a series of intelligence-led proactive investigations targeting t...hese high-risk sectors, which commonly rely on potentially vulnerable young workers such as university students. Inspectors investigated 49 fast food, café and restaurant businesses in Melbourne’s Degraves Street and Hardware Lane. In Brisbane’s West End, inspectors investigated a total of 44 businesses. Food precinct businesses were selected because the FWO’s intelligence, including anonymous reports, suggested breaches of workplace laws. The audits found that 84 per cent of businesses investigated in the Melbourne laneways food precincts and 88 per cent of those investigated in Brisbane’s West End were not compliant with Australia’s workplace laws. In total, the regulator recovered $194,365 for 186 Melbourne laneways workers and $309,073 for 369 Brisbane West End workers. Total underpayments per business ranged from $30 to $59,680 in Melbourne and $377 to $65,215 in Brisbane. The FWO’s national food and retail investigations also assessed another 171 businesses, finding a 71 per cent non-compliance rate, with inspectors recovering $709,289 for 796 workers. These workers were engaged in roles such as chefs, cooks, waiters and retail assistants. Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the low rates of compliance were unacceptable. While we know some of our priority sectors, including many fast food, restaurant and café businesses, have been seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are under considerable financial strain, we will continue to enforce workplace laws in a proportionate way, Ms Parker said. We will focus on ensuring that any underpayments of workers are back-paid promptly, and where serious non-compliance is found, we will take enforcement action. Competitive dining strips commonly rely on workers who are young, students or visa holders. We will continue to protect such vulnerable employees by holding employers to account. In response to workplace law breaches identified in the Melbourne laneways and Brisbane’s West End food precincts, the FWO issued one contravention letter, 19 formal cautions, 51 infringement notices (with total penalties of $101,220), and 42 compliance notices. The FWO also recently commenced legal action against a company (and a company director) identified that operate stores at locations including Degraves Street in Melbourne.

06.01.2022 Keep work health and safety a priority in your business. Go to our COVID-19 resource kit to find work health and safety resources for your workplace, including... checklists, infographics, fact sheets and posters on topics including cleaning, physical distancing and hygiene. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au//covid-19-resource-kit See more

05.01.2022 Update: The Fair Work Commission have extended the operation of Schedule X in more than 70 awards until 29 March 2021. https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//unpaid-pandemic-leave

04.01.2022 Summer sales are coming soon but your wages shouldn’t be discounted. If you’re an adult (21 years of age or over) who gets a casual job as a level 1 employee under the Retail Award you must: be paid at least $26.76 per hour be paid at least $32.12 per hour for Saturdays and $37.47 for Sundays get a paid 10-minute rest break if you work 4 or more hours as well as a 30-60 minute unpaid meal break if you work over 5 hours.... If your work has an enterprise agreement, then the entitlements could change (though your base rate of pay can’t be less than the rates in the Retail Award). You can find rates for all ages and classifications under the Retail Award and most other modern awards in our Pay Calculator: https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/findyouraward

03.01.2022 The Fair Work Commission has extended Schedule I in the Vehicle Award again. The extended provisions of Schedule I will now operate until 30 September 2020. Schedule I is a temporary schedule in the Vehicle Award that changes some award provisions during the coronavirus outbreak. The temporary schedule includes provisions about full-time and part-time employees’ hours of work and agreements to take annual leave.... More information here: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//vehicle-award-changes

02.01.2022 Bonding with your newborn as a family unit is important. Concurrent leave lets both parents take up to 8 weeks of unpaid parental leave at the same time. The leave can be taken in a single block or broken up into shorter periods. It comes out of your total unpaid parental leave entitlement and has to be taken within the first 12 months of birth (or the date of adoption).... While the leave is unpaid, you may be able to access other financial support like dad and partner pay through Centrelink. More here: https://www.fairwork.gov.au//materni/taking-parental-leave

01.01.2022 Legislation has passed Parliament that extends the JobKeeper provisions in the Fair Work Act. The extended provisions take effect from 28 September 2020 and the last day that they apply is 28 March 2021. There have been some changes made in the new provisions including allowing some employers, known as legacy employers, to continue using some of the extended JobKeeper provisions for their previously eligible employees if they meet certain conditions. The previous JobKeeper p...rovision allowing employers to make agreements with eligible employees to take annual leave has been repealed and stops applying from 28 September 2020. From this date, any agreement that was made under these provisions stops applying. You can get more detailed info about the Jobkeeper extension on our website. It’s updated regularly and you can subscribe to email updates to be notified when we have new info on our page: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//extension-of-jobkeepe

01.01.2022 If your boss is no longer participating in JobKeeper, but they’ve still had a decline in turnover, they could be regarded as a ‘legacy’ employer. Legacy employers can still give you some JobKeeper directions, such as reducing your hours, as long as you were previously eligible for JobKeeper. To give these kinds of directions, they must follow other conditions too. If your boss is a legacy employer and has any existing JobKeeper directions with you, they will end on 27 Septemb...er 2020. Any new JobKeeper direction made by your boss to reduce your hours of work must: leave part-time and full-time employees with at least 60% of your ordinary hours as at 1 March 2020 (although sometimes a different way of working out these hours can apply), and result in you working for 2 hours or more on a workday. You can read more info on when and how a legacy employers can give JobKeeper directions here: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//jobkeeper-enabling-di

01.01.2022 Your boss can’t ask you to use up your long service leave as a condition of you receiving the benefit of the JobKeeper payment. Most employee long service leave entitlements come from state/territory laws. So while you can’t be directed to take leave as a condition of JobKeeper, the laws in your state/territory might set other rules about when you can be directed to take long service leave. We’ve got more information about long service leave here: https://www.fairwork.gov.au/leave/long-service-leave

01.01.2022 No longer off work under JobKeeper? For those transitioning back to work, we’ve got information on the rules about returning to the workplace here: https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au//directions-to-return-