As promised late last year, the Federal Government has taken the first step towards establishing what it believes will be a fairer, simpler and more productive industrial relations system with the introduction to parliament of the Workplace Relations (Transition to Forward with Fairness) Bill 2008.
The focus of this initial bill is limited to Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs), Individual Transition Employment Agreements (ITEAs), and the award modernisation process. Other more substantive changes will follow later in the year but are unlikely to be implemented before 1 January 2010.
In a nutshell the key changes in the initial bill are:
> AWAs are to be phased out, but it is significant that an employer may still enter into AWAs until the date of commencement of the new legislation.
> ITEAs may be made from the commencement date, provided the employer employed at least one employee on an individual agreement as at 1 December 2007.
> The ‘Fairness Test’ is to be replaced by a ‘No Disadvantage Test’. This change may allow more flexibility than is currently the case, because the assessment will be an overall no disadvantage test as compared with the current need for absolute compliance with each of the protected award conditions.
> The award simplification process, which underpins the new system and is the reason why the substantive changes will not be made before 2010, will be conducted by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission. Modern awards may contain ten allowable matters. The request to the commission will set out the process and timetable for completion, specify the matters to be included and the required progress reports.
So what action should you take? > It really is a case of keeping an eye on the changes as they come through. For instance, the government has just published its consultation document on the ten National Employment Standards.
> Keep a regular eye on the Workforce Guardian website as well, as we will use this site to keep you fully informed with up-to-date briefings about the changes and what they mean to you. As the changes occur, our ER specialists and our Clayton Utz advisors will ensure all content is fully compliant at all times.
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