Everybody doing work in Australia, inclusive of overseas workers, are eligible for standard rights and protections in the workplace. Foreign workers are individuals who are not Australian residents or hold permanent residency in Australia, and may even comprise of ’backpackers’, seasonal workforce, or overseas students. With a purpose to work in Australia, they need to possess a short-term long stay or permanent visa.
Workplace laws in Australia basically apply equally to all people employed in Australia. Organisations hiring international workforce need to guarantee that they comply with both Australian workplace laws and immigration laws.
Australian immigration laws – such as applying for and understanding the laws of valid work visas, as well as the requirement to pay current market payment rates for Subclass 457 work visa holders – are enforced by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship. For further information on various visa requirements, consult the Department of Immigration and Citizenship web sites or give them a ring.
Commonwealth workplace laws, which includes the payment of bare minimum rates of pay as well as stipulations beneath awards and agreements, are enforced via the Fair Work Ombudsman. Under Commonwealth workplace laws, no man or woman over the age group of twenty one in the federal workplace relations system might be rewarded below the minimum pay. The national minimum wage order is set by the Minimum Wages Panel inside Fair Work Australia, and it is intended as a safety net.
What are bare minimum rights and conditions at work?
From 1st January 2010, all personnel inside of the countrywide workplace relations structure have 10 (ten) elementary minimum entitlements referred to as th National Employment Standards (NES).
The NES involve:
– maximum weekly work hours
– needs for adjustable working provisions
– parental leave and correlated entitlements
– yearly leave
– personal / carer’s leave and compassionate leave
– community service leave
– long service leave
– public holidays
– notice of termination and redundancy pay off
– provision of a Fair Work Information Record.
Your minimum rights and conditions while at work might be made by an official document similar to award, an agreement, or a contract of employment. Question your employer which one applies to you to learn how you may be affected.
When an award or agreement don’t apply, all employees inside the nationwide workplace relations system would accept standard minimum salary, conditions and protections beneath Commonwealth workplace laws.
When you are demanded to sign any form of document conforming to specific working conditions, ensure you read through it very diligently and understand it before signing. Make a copy for your records. You shouldn’t experience undue strain to sign any agreement with your employer. And if you do, get in touch with the Fair Work Ombudsman department.