Employment Contracts

Definition and types:

Contracts are legally binding agreements between two parties. In the case of HRM, the contract signed is between the employee and the employer.

The contract sets out the specific conditions of employment and the entitlements in the role such as pay, hours, holidays, sick leave.

• Awards: Australia-wide agreements for employees in a specific industry (eg. hospitality). The award sets the minimum benchmark for wages and conditions that employers must follow.

• Enterprise Agreements: Specific to individual firms; a negotiated agreement between employer and trade unions (representing employees). Must be above industry award.   

Employer - Employee Responsibilities:

Employers have the responsibility to provide work and tasks for employees to perform, payment of income and expenses of staff, abide by the relevant legislation such as unfair dismissal, anti-discrimination and equal employment opportunity, and provide duty of care (health and safety of the employee).

Employees have the responsibility to obey the reasonable and lawful commands of their employers, use skill and due care in undertaking work activities, and act in good faith and in the interests of the employer.

National Employment Standards (NES)

A set of entitlement that all employees receive (since 2010) and is legislated by the federal government; applying to full-time and part-time employees.

There are eleven main standards in the NES.

The NES includes: maximum weekly hours of work, requests for flexible working arrangement, parental leave, annual leave, carers / compassionate leave, community service leave, long-service leave, public holidays, notice of termination and redundancy pay, provision of a Fair Work Information statement.

Fair Work Act 2009

Federal legislation (statute law) that regulates all aspects of industrial relations (the relationship between employers and employees).

The law covers: 

• The nature of employment contracts and enterprise agreements

• Criteria for unfair dismissal

• Dispute settling methods (including creation of the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission)