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WorkSight Newsletter
September 1999

Is your business covered by an Award?

Awards set out the employment conditions that apply in businesses which are covered by that award. If your business is covered by an award you are legally obliged to abide by the Award unless you have negotiated Australian Workplace Agreements or a Certified Agreement with your employees. Do not start to negotiate employment conditions with your employees until you find out whether you are covered by an Award and what the conditions in the Award are.

If you are not sure whether you are covered by an award

Contact:

1. WorkSight on 03 9372 8126; or
2. Federal Government's WageCentre on 1300 363 264; or
3. The Australian Industrial Relations Commission on 03 9653 8200.

If you know you are covered by an Award

If you know you are covered by an Award you are required to have a copy of it and abide by it. Contact the Australian Industrial Relations Commission for a copy of your Award on 03 9653 8200 If you are covered by a Federal Award but want to negotiate different employment conditions, go to "Making Employment Contracts and Agreements".

Even if your business is not covered by a federal award

Even if your business is not covered by a Federal Award in Victoria you cannot give your employees less than:

1. 4 weeks annual leave each year. This is cumulative, eg if an employee only uses up 2 weeks leave in one year the remaining 2 weeks gets added to his or her next year's leave so that he or she has 6 weeks.
2. 1 weeks sick leave each year. This is also cumulative.
3. 12 months unpaid maternity or paternity or adoption leave.
4. Entitlement to be given notice of termination of employment or to be paid compensation instead of notice (the period of notice required to be given depends on the number of years the employee has worked for you).

Minimum pay

There are also minimum wages that apply to employees in Victoria who are not covered by a Federal Award. To find out what the minimum wage rates in your industry are contact:

1. WorkSight on 03 9372 8126; or
2. Federal Government's WageCentre on 1300 363 264

Making employment contracts and agreements

You can negotiate a private employment contract with your employees or an Australian Workplace Agreement or a Certified Agreement. If your business is covered by a Federal Award only an AWA or a Certified Agreement can override the Award - a private employment contract will not.

A private employment contract

A private employment contract can be either a verbal or a written contract. Even a casual chat with your worker agreeing their hours of work and wages is a contract. The problem with making a contract this way is that you have no proof of what you said. Always make employment contracts in writing. Also make sure the contract is signed and dated by both you and your employee.

Making an Australian Workplace Agreement or a certified agreement

Australian Workplace Agreements can be made with individual employees or with groups of employees. Certified Agreements are made with groups of employees. The most useful aspect of these Agreements is that they can legally override awards so that you can negotiate employment conditions that suit your business and your employees. AWAs are checked by the Employment Advocate and Certified Agreements by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission to ensure that employees are not disadvantaged by the Agreement.

For more information about how to make an agreement contact;

1. For AWAs and Certified Agreements - WorkSight on 03 9372 8126; or
2. For AWAs - the Employment Advocate on 1300 366 632.

What to put in a Contract or Agreement

The following is a complete list of everything that should be included in a contract or agreement:

1. usual hours of work & rest breaks
2. annual leave and leave loadings
3. public holidays
4. overtime payments
5. penalty rates
6. notice of termination
7. dispute settling procedures
8. personal/carer's, sick, family & bereavement leave
9. type of employment eg full time, part time, casual etc
10. rates of pay
11. long service leave
12. allowances
13. casual loadings
14. redundancy pay
15. stand-down provisions
16. jury service
17. superannuation

For more information contact us at WorkSight.