Beoz

Is there a minimum an employer is required to pay? Just asking in case it arises and I can budget - ie, how long can I live on the beach for

spouse of scouse

Redundancy clauses should be covered in your employment contract. If the contract is silent on this, then the relevant award for your profession should cover it.

Beoz

Oh yes. Its all silent. My HR dept make it up as they go. They are shite.

I'm I'm in the private sector. No such thing as an award unless i make them a lot of money.

ozzieeagle

Sorry I'm not sure because of the contract situation.

spouse of scouse

They can only go so far in making it up - if you're not covered under an award or agreement, then it falls to the Fair Work Act/National Employment Standards. These standards are the minimum employers can provide, with a few exceptions (eg casual employees, very small businesses)


Ending employment - Fact sheets - Fair Work Ombudsman

What redundancy pay might be payable?

As of 1 January 2010, an employee covered by the national workplace relations system, who has at least one year of continuous service and who works for an employer that employs 15 or more employees may be entitled to redundancy or severance payments (to a maximum of 16 weeks pay) under the National Employment Standards (NES).

bcworld

Typical entitlements:

Redundancy pay and entitlements - Redundancy - Fair Work Ombudsman

...not sure what's going on in yr 10 though!

ozzieeagle

I'm not sure at all, but I believe you can sign all of those rights away when you sign an individual contract. Especally if you end up with your own ABN number.

Aus post has done this with their Parcel drivers, their subcontractors aren't covered, IE: the people that the Contractors hire.

Amazulu

Awards, collective bargaining, EBAs and the like are just more socialist/union mumbo jumbo keeping Australia uncompetitive and unproductive and ensuring that there is a large bureaucracy (aka red tape) in order to administer it all

As long as we have a good minimum wage (which we do), everything else should be open to negotiation between workers and employers on an individual basis, with minimal involvement of the state

ozzieeagle

When you go down the individual road like your ideal, you end up with people down the bottom end of the ladder being exploited due to their own ignorance. This is definitely happening right now with the sub contractors of contractors. Trouble is they are so fearful of losing what little income they have, they wont complain even when they start to realise they are being exploited.

I'd hate to open the floodgates on that kind of workplace reform.

The right would still lose an election today, if they tried to bring that in... try in 16-20 years

Amazulu

Which is why Australia will never realise its full potential and unemloyment will stay high(ish)

The realities of the Asian century are going to have a very big say, very soon in this

ozzieeagle

If the minimum wage was fully adhered too, I'd have some sympathy for your argument. Trouble is it's not.... Ask any Taxi driver for instance. I agree that something does need to be done about the Asian Century implications. I'm all for securing jobs.

However until the bottom end of the employment ladder can be guaranteed to be free from exploitaion, I'll stick with the Status quo. I'd rather many workers benefit from perks at a few employers expense, rather than a few employers at 1,000's of workers expense.

Amazulu

Just read this article and found it very interesting:
Britain is world's ninth most competitive country - Telegraph

UK is now the 9th most competitive country in the world (Australia is 22nd)

This is great news for that country. They've dumped all the mumbo jumbo socialist labour regs/laws that we are still lumbered with. They have also broken their unions - we haven't. Now they will reap the benefits and more people will be better off compared to those that aren't

A lesson for us

Beoz

Interesting and thanks. I wonder if the weeks would work if I worked for this company abroad then in Oz. Knowing my company they would go for the bare minimum.

spouse of scouse

I'm not so sure that the UK's ranking in the most competitive stakes equals good news for all workers. Across the North-west of England, at least, there's an alarming increase in the number of 'Zero hours contracts'. Workers in retail and service industries who were previously employed full time are being put on these contracts - and if they don't like it, their only recourse is to leave the job (and good luck to them finding another one that matches their skills that doesn't also enforce zero hours).

It is impossible for a person without guaranteed hours of work to get a home loan, or any kind of loan for that matter. Landlords aren't interested in renting to someone who doesn't have a guaranteed income. Then there are the day to day things - like not knowing if you'll have money for food and bills.

I'm sure that zero hours contracts are fantastic for businesses - bit of a lull, send most staff home. The pendulum has swung too far the other way.

louie

Oh really. My business has recently defended three separate employment tribunals brought by a spiteful employee sacked for gross misconduct. All thrown out. Consequences for him. None. Consequences for us. £30,000+ on legal fees and hundreds of hours of time which would otherwise have been spent doing real work and earning money.

One of the main reasons I've had enough is the ridiculous level of interference in my business by government.

And before you say it's even worse in Australia, I've no intention of becoming an employer over there....