Employment law is an area characterised by frequent change and we are continuing to keep you up to date with these as they happen. The new financial year also brings with it a range of remuneration increases which impact on what employers must pay outside of their normal remuneration review cycle.
The Fair Work Amendment Bill 2013 (Cth) was passed by the Senate on 27 June 2013, which means that the latest amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) will take effect on 1 January 2014. Read more on the proposed 'family friendly' measures in our earlier article here, and on the consultation obligations, union right of entry rules and the protection of penalty rates here.
The Federal Government delayed the commencement of the proposed anti-bullying provisions, which allow employees who believe that they have been bullied at work to file a complaint with the Fair Work Commission, until 1 January 2014. Read more on the proposed anti-bullying laws here. Safe Work Australia has also released a revised draft model Code of Practice on Preventing and Responding to Workplace Bullying. The closing date for public submissions is 15 July 2013.
The Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Bill 2013 was passed by Federal Parliament on 26 June 2013. Read more in our earlier article here.
From 1 July 2013, the following increases take effect:
- the FWC Minimum Wage Panel granted an increase of 2.6% to the minimum wage, as well as to all modern award rates of pay, from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2013. As a result, the national weekly minimum wage will increase to $622.20
- the casual loading for award/agreement-free employees increases from 23% to 24%
- the minimum superannuation guarantee contribution rate increases from 9% to 9.25%
- while Federal Parliament has not yet passed the increase to the maximum superannuation contribution base, being the maximum ordinary time earnings which attracts the minimum superannuation contribution of 9.25%, it is expected to increase to $192,160
- the high income threshold used to determine whether an award/agreement-free employee is eligible to make an application for unfair dismissal under the Fair Work Act 2009 increases to $129,300 (excluding superannuation).
In addition, from 1 July 2013 employers must make superannuation guarantee payments for employees over the age of 70.
We last wrote about the new workplace gender equality laws on 13 February 2013 (click here to view). The Workplace Gender Equality Agency has now released the reporting matters for each of the gender equality indicators against which employers are required to report for the 2013-2014 reporting period. Read more here.
Finally, the definition of 'worker' under the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) has been amended to narrow its scope creating the possibility for Queensland employers to reduce workers' compensation premiums. Read more here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.