Most modern Awards have been amended to incorporate the following key changes in recent weeks:
- Casual conversion rights;
- Requests for flexible work arrangements;
- Timing of termination payments; and
- Limitations on deductions for failing to provide notice.
Most of these changes have already taken effect and impact all employers who are covered by a Modern Award (or who are in the process of negotiating a new enterprise agreement). Many of the changes merely relate to the simplification of existing wording, however, there are several substantive changes that relate to the above and that have already come into operation.
To ascertain whether these changes affect your business, you should obtain an updated version of the relevant Modern Award(s) that govern the employment of your staff.
Casual Conversion Rights – Available to Everyone
What does this mean for your business?
Under the model clause that has been inserted into all Modern Awards:
- A casual employee who has been working a regular work pattern for at least 12 months can request to convert to full or part-time employment.
- Where such a request is made, the employer:
- has 21 days to consider the request and provide a written response; and
- can only refuse the request on reasonable grounds and after consultation with the employee.
- Employers have an obligation to notify existing employees of their casual conversion rights by no later than 1 January 2019 and, for new employees, must notify them within the first 12 months of their employment.
- Employers cannot engage or re-engage casuals or reduce or vary hours to avoid rights or obligations under the model clause.
What You Need to Do
You should review all casual staff employment to ensure that you have adequate processes and procedures in place to manage requests for casual conversion and to ensure that you comply with the notification and timing requirements in the relevant Modern Award.
Businesses need to take action now to ensure that they have sufficient processes and procedures in place to manage requests for casual conversion and ensure compliance with notification and timing requirements. Consideration should be given to developing a casual conversion policy & procedure and template notification and response letters. HR Australia can assist you with developing those documents.
Look out for our next blog on Requests for Flexible Work Arrangements.