An easy-to-understand explanation of specific law-related issues.
DISCLAIMER: This information does not constitute legal advice; don’t get your legal advice from a newspaper, only get legal advice from a practising lawyer!
For workers and those unemployed (happily or unhappily), take note: employment rights have temporarily changed in Australia! The new provisions began on 9 April and they are expected to end on 28 September.
Before the new changes to the law were introduced, you could generally reject proposed changes to your contract on the basis that new changes needed the consent of both employee and employer. Under the new laws, you’re not allowed to unreasonably refuse reasonable requests (referred to in the legislation as ‘directions’) by employers. So, if your employer directs you to work extra hours, for example, you will need to consider whether the extra hours are reasonable. What qualifies as ‘reasonable’ is one of those murky legal questions that has no definitive answer; it depends. Lawyers at JobWatch, a community legal centre that specialises in employment law, recommend that you consider your own situation with regards to your health and safety, your personal circumstances, the usual nature of your work, monetary compensation and whether you were given enough notice about the changed conditions.
Crucially, any new arrangements made between you and your employer will not apply unless you were first consulted and given written notice of the employer’s intention to make a new direction at least 3 days before the direction is given (or you genuinely agreed to waive the notice period).
TIP! Make sure any new direction that you agree to is explicitly temporary; you don’t want to suddenly be stuck with arrangements made under a pandemic when things return back to normal!
Before the changes, an employer could stand down a worker during a period in which the worker cannot be usefully employed due to, for example, industrial action, a breakdown of machinery or other stoppage of work. If a worker has been lawfully stood down, then the employer is not required to pay the worker for the period of time that work is stopped. At a recent panel event, lawyers from JobWatch noted that before the changes were implemented on 9 April, the cause of the work stoppage must have been out of the employer’s control. This means that the employer would not be empowered to stand down their workers simply because it had become uneconomical, and it might constitute unfair dismissal if they did so. This is because the decision to stop work would be a decision made by management, and not the pandemic directly. If you were stood down before 9 April, make sure you seek free legal advice about whether this was lawfully done.
The temporary changes to the law now allow the employer to, between 9 April and 28 September, stand down an employee due to changes to business that are attributable to the pandemic or a government initiative to slow the virus, however they can only stand you down if you are eligible for the jobkeeper payments. This means that if you get stood down during this period, you should be receiving the jobkeeper payments of $1,500 per fortnight.
If you’re not sure whether your employer has done the right thing, or if you want some help understanding your rights you should call JobWatch ((03) 9662 1933) or the Fair Work Commission (1300 799 675). If you are under 30 you can also contact the Young Workers Centre (1800 714 754).
By BB
The Coburg Meddler 