Closing Loopholes (No. 2) Bill Passes Parliament
The second part of the Closing Loopholes Bill passed parliament yesterday - meaning more significant changes for workplaces are coming!
This Bill was split last year to pass some measures while other measures continued to be debated (see our previous article about this here. These others measures (with amendments made in the Senate last week) have now been accepted by the House of Representatives.
What are the MAIN CHANGES being talked about?
We have briefly summarised the items which employers are talking most about below:
• The “right to disconnect” from work: There will be a workplace right to refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact in relation to work outside of working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable. The Fair Work Commission will have the power to resolve disputes (such as making an order to stop an employee refusing being contacted or stop employers taking certain actions).
• Redefining of casual employment: An employee will be casual if there is no firm advance commitment to continuing and indefinite work and they are entitled to a casual loading (or specific casual rate). There must also be consideration given to the real substance, practical reality and true nature of the employment relationship amongst other criteria.
• Changes to casual conversion: Casuals will be able to seek casual conversion to permanent employment after just 6 months (12 months for small business) if they believe they are not a true casual employee. This will make it easier for casual to convert to permanent work if they choose.
• Protections for “employee like” and regulated workers: There will be increased regulation of employee like workers (including digital platform workers) and road workers, including new powers for orders to be made by the Fair Work Commission about minimum standards, amongst other changes.
• Right of entry: Permit holders can seek approval from the Fair Work Commission to exercise a right of entry regarding suspected underpayment claims without having to give advance notice.
• New ordinary meaning of “employee” and “employer”: There will be a new test for employment created to reverse the approach taken by the High Court and go back to the “multi-factorial” approach when considering the status of a worker, the real substance, practical reality, and true nature of the relationship.
• Sham contracting defence: An employer has to show they had a “reasonable belief” at the time of making the representation that there was an independent contractor arrangement in place.
• Increases to maximum penalties: The maximum penalties for contravening a range of civil penalty provisions have been increased to 300 units ($93,900) for individuals and 3000 units ($939,000.00) for serious contraventions.
If you require advice on the changes and what they mean for you or your business, please get in touch with the Employment and Industrial Relations Law Team today.