FAIR WORK INFORMATION & CASUAL EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION STATEMENTS
Please find below links to the latest versions of the ‘Fair Work Information Statement’ and the ‘Casual Employment Information Statement’ – discard your previous versions. *Note that there are Penalties for failing to give a Statement to a new Employee.
Employers have to give every new Employee a copy of the ‘Fair Work Information Statement’ before, or as soon as possible after, they start their new job.
Employers also have to give every new Casual Employee a copy of the ‘Casual Employment Information Statement’ as well.
The ‘Fair Work Information Statement’ provides new Employees with information about their Conditions of Employment.
The ‘Fair Work Information Statement’ has information on:
– The National Employment Standards
– Right to request Flexible Working Arrangements
– Modern Awards
– Making Agreements under the Fair Work Act
– Individual Flexibility Arrangements
– Freedom of Association and Workplace Rights (general protections)
– Termination of Employment
– Right of Entry
– The role of the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Fair Work Commission
The ‘Casual Employment Information Statement’ has information on:
– The definition of a Casual Employee
– When an Employer has to offer Casual Conversion
– When an Employer does not have to offer Casual Conversion
– When a Casual Employee can request Casual Conversion
– Casual Conversion Entitlements of Casual Employees employed by Small Business Employers
– The role of the Fair Work Commission to deal with disputes about Casual Conversion.
Providing the Statements
The Statements can be given to new Employees:
– In person
– By mail
– By e-mail
– By e-mailing a link to the FWO website
– By fax
– By another method
Download >>Fair Work Information Statement (PDF 314KB)
Download >>Casual Employment Information Statement (PDF 296.4KB)
CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS FOR NEW SOUTH WALES & VICTORIA
The NSW and Victorian Governments recently announced measures to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.
These measures may raise enquiries about:
– standing down Employees without Pay
– Workers being prevented to attend Workplaces in certain Government areas
What Stand Down Provisions Apply
The Fair Work Act extends limited rights to an Employer to stand an Employee down without Pay.
In order to stand down Employees under the Fair Work Act, Employers need to establish 3 things:
1) the Employee must not be able to be ‘usefully employed’
2) there must be a ‘stoppage of work’ and
3) the ‘stoppage must have been caused by reasons that the Employer cannot reasonably be held responsible for’.
Where a Government has ‘shut’ an Industry or part of an Industry, this most likely will trigger a stoppage outside the Employer’s control.
If the above-mentioned requirements are met, then the Employer is not required to make payments to Employees for the period.
We recommend you be careful Standing Employees Down and explore all options before enacting a Stand Down without Pay, such as taking of any Accrued Paid Leave Entitlements for Full Time or Part Time Employees.
Employees unable to get to Work because of Government rules applying to local Government areas, such as Western Sydney Local Government areas.
Be careful about Terminating the Employment of an Employee, unable to attend work because of these restrictions, as it may be an Unfair Dismissal Risk.
It is important to firstly consider if an Employee can work from home, otherwise you are not under any requirement to pay the Employee.
Please make available any Accrued Paid Leave, for Full Time or Part Time Employees, such as Annual Leave or Long Service Leave.
We recommend you keep up to date with the Fair Work Ombudsman information on Coronavirus, refer link >>https://coronavirus.fairwork.gov.au. Please also refer to this link before Standing Down Employees.
If you need any Advice on the above mentioned, or any Workplace Relations matters, please do not hesitate to contact us.