Employee Rights and Representation Flashcards
An employee:
Provides labour or expertise in exchange for wages/ salary
10 minimum entitlements of National employment standards:
- Maximum weekly hours
- Requests for flexible working arrangements
- Parental leave and related entitlements
- Annual leave
- Personal carers leave and compassionate leave
- Community service leave
- Long service leave
- Public holidays
- Notice of termination and redundancy pay
- Fair work information statement
(Pay) - Employees have to be paid right amount of pay for all hours they work including:
- Training
- In team meetings
- Opening and closing the business
- Working unreasonable trial shifts
- Minimum wages
- Paid at least monthly
- Penalty rates
Awards and agreements determine pay
Minimum conditions at work can come from registered agreements, awards and legislation
Registered agreements in place:
Covers the work that the employee does
No registered agreements in place:
Award covers the work that the employee does
Different forms of unpaid work:
- Work experience and internships
- Student placements
Reasons for unpaid work
- Experience in job or industry
- Test a person’s skills
- Volunteer time and effort for not-for-profit organisations
Public holiday
Must be paid at least their base pay rate for all hours worked on a public holiday
Some enterprises can agree on awards for public holidays including:
- Extra pay
- Extra day off or annual leave
- Minimum shift lengths on public holidays
- Agreeing to substitute a public holiday for another day
(Leave) Minimum leave entitlements (National employment standards)
- Annual leave
- Public holidays
- Long service
- Carers
- Compassionate
- Maternal and paternal
Termination of employment (minimum amount of time)
Amount of continuous service: 1 year: 1 week >1 year - 3 years: 2 weeks >3 years - 5 years: 3 weeks >5 years: 4 weeks
Minimum dismissal time does not apply to:
Casual employees, people who are employed for a specific amount of time or task (contract), seasonal employees.
Employee voice (Albert Hirschman)
Attempt to change rather than escape from an objectional state of affairs
Contemporary definition of employee voice:
Variety of processes and structures which enable, and at times, empower employees directly and indirectly to contribute to decision making.
Trade unions:
- Act as collective agents to protect and improve member’s wages and conditions through collective bargaining and other means
- Act as social agents by pursuing objectives that extend beyond workplace and community
- Provide members with a form of indirect employee voice in the workplace
Importance of voice and representation (organisation)
Loyalty, reduced turnover, provide opportunity to resolve conflict, improve efficiency, get employee knowledge, build trust and partnership
Importance of voice and representation (employees)
An entitlement or human right, means for self actualisation, articulate dissatisfaction, provides collective power, build trust and partnership
Contemporary issues
- Technology
- Social media
- Ageing workplace
- Telework
- Flexibility
- Stress
- Bullying and harassment
- Fairness
- Empowerment or exploitation
