New Fair Work Information Statement

By Adam Foster

On 1 July 2015 the Fair Work Ombudsman released an updated Fair Work Information Statement. The Fair Work Information Statement provides information on basic employment rights, such as the National Employment Standards. The Fair Work Information Statement, under the Fair Work Act, must be provided to all employees as soon as possible after the commencement of their employment. It can also be provided in advance of employment. Employers should now be making sure that they are providing the most up-to-date version of the Fair Work Information Statement to all new employees.

Annual Leave Loading

Recently, we wrote on how the Federal Court had accepted that if an employee receives other benefits than taking annual leave during their employment, such as annual leave loading, they are legally entitled to be paid all of those benefits on termination, together with any accrued but untaken annual leave.

This was recently reaffirmed by the full Federal Court, and the full Federal Court decided that under the National Employment Standards an employee is entitled to be paid on termination accrued but untaken annual leave at the rate the employee would have been paid had he or she taken annual leave; and if there is a higher rate than the National Employment Standards, then the higher rate ought to be paid; and the National Employment Standards do not limit the payment of accrued or untaken annual leave to employees’ base rate of pay.

If you have questions regarding the payment of correct entitlements, please contact Chris Morey, Director of Dispute Resolution or Adam Foster, Associate, Dispute Resolution and Employment Law on (03) 9629 9629.