Workplace Laws
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Victorian employees and employers have the benefit and protection of the federal Fair Work laws.
The Fair Work Act 2009 provides for:
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- 10 National Employment Standards, which guarantee basic minimum conditions for employees; and
- Modern Awards, which set out legally enforceable pay rates and conditions for employees in a specific industry or occupation.
- Employers, employees and unions may also negotiate enterprise agreements (covering a workplace), and employees may also enter into an individual contract.
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Minimum employment conditions in Victoria include pay, hours of work, flexible work arrangements, annual leave (vacations), notice of termination and redundancy pay.
Victorian workers are also protected by law against discrimination on the basis of sex, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation and a number of other grounds.
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Pensions
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Pension funds in Australia are known as Superannuation. Under the Superannuation Guarantee, employers must pay employees an additional 9% of their gross salary into a superannuation fund. This cannot be accessed until the employee retires.
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Health and Safety
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Health and safety standards for Victorian workplaces are set out in legislation.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety regulations 2007 sets out employers’ obligations in areas such as:
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- maintaining safe plant and systems of work,
- providing adequate toilets and other facilities, and
- making sure workers have adequate information, training and supervision
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WorkCover is a compulsory insurance system that provides compensation for employees injured in Victorian workplaces.
Details, visit www.worksafe.gov.au.
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Industrial Disputes
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Industrial action in Victoria is legal under certain circumstances. Workplace relations have improved significantly in recent decades, with disputes and strikes now at an all-time low. The chart below shows the decrease in days lost to industrial disputes.
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Figure1: Top Ten - Economist Intelligence Unit Liveability Ranking 2010
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