What's New in 2014?
Some changes to workplace laws came into effect on 1 January 2014, and below is a short summary of those changes.
New Employer Consultation Requirements
All modern awards and new enterprise agreements must have a term that requires employers to consult with employees about changes to their regular roster or ordinary hours of work.
What this means is that when an employer wants to change an employee's regular working roster, they will need to first:
- give information to the employee about the change;
- let the employee give their views about the change (eg. impact to family or caring responsibilities); and
- consider the employee's views on the impact of the change.
New Workplace Bullying Laws
An employee who claims to have been bullied at work can apply to the Commission for an order to stop the bullying.
Under thew law, 'bullying' happens when:
- an individual or group repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards a worker or group; and
- the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety.
Bullying does not include:
- one off instances of insensitivity or rudeness; or
- reasonable management activities carried out in a reasonable manner.
For an employee to make a claim, he or she must still be working at the business, and employees that have been dismissed will not be able to apply for an order (however, they may still be able to pursue an unfair or unlawful termination claim).
Changes to the Union's Right of Entry
These changes will affect the rights and powers of union officials who have entry permits to enter business premises. The changes will mean that interviews and discussions with employees must be held in an area that the employer and permit holder agree to (lunch rooms can be used if no agreement can be reached).
The Commission will also be able to:
- deal with disputes about the frequency of union visits
- deal with disputes about accommodation and transport arrangements
- ensure appropriate conduct by permit holders while they are receiving accommodation or being transported under the arrangements.
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