AHA|SA MEMBER INFORMATION
Industrial Relations Reforms on the Agenda OWEN WEBB, AHA|SA WORKPLACE RELATIONS MANAGER
The Federal Government has signalled its intentions in relation to industrial relations reforms with the introduction of its industrial relations reform package into Federal Parliament. The proposed legislation seeks to make substantial changes to Australia’s industrial relations system, particularly as it relates to casual employment. The AHA has led advocacy efforts on behalf of Australia’s hotel and hospitality industry, through our membership on several key ministerial working groups. The end result of this consultation is the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia’s Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 (the Bill), which seeks to amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (Fair Work Act) and related legislation. The Bill aims to provide greater certainty and flexibility to employers and employees, support productivity, employment and economic growth and assist in Australia’s recovery from COVID-19 by stimulating job creation whilst protecting workers. The reform package is currently being debated in Parliament with Federal Labor at this initial stage signalling that it will oppose the Bill in its current form. So how do the changes being proposed through the Bill impact the hotel and hospitality industry?
CASUAL EMPLOYEES Arguably, one of the most significant inclusions in the Bill is the introduction of a statutory definition of a casual employee. The definition focuses on the offer and acceptance of employment. The Bill intends to prevent ‘double dipping’ as a result of inadvertent misclassifications. In circumstances where an employee is misclassified as casual, the casual loading paid to 24 | Hotel SA | W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U
an employee can be offset against claims for leave and other entitlements. This will give employers confidence to create jobs as well as encourage rehiring of many casuals who lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Additionally, the Bill introduces a mandatory obligation requiring employers to offer regular casuals conversion to full-time or part-time employment and provides limited exceptions to the obligation. This obligation provides employees engaged as casuals, who work regularly to convert to permanent employment if it is their preference. The conversion entitlement is enlivened if the employee has been: a) employed for at least 12 months; and b) worked a regular pattern of hours for six (6) months. There is a residual right for employees to convert in certain circumstances where they have not received or accepted an employer offer to convert. The Bill also requires casual employees to be provided with a Casual Employment Information Statement published by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
MODERN AWARD FLEXIBILITIES The Bill seeks to extend the current JobKeeper flexibilities contained in the Fair Work Act relating to duties and location of work for two (2) years for award covered employees. The Bill introduces part-time flexibility provisions across ‘identified modern awards’, two of which are the Hospitality Back to Contents
