Last week, a range of employment law changes under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (known as the Closing Loopholes No. 2) came into effect that all employers need to be across.
The below summarises the key changes effective from 26 August 2024.
Right to Disconnect
The new employee right to disconnect has garnered much media attention over the past week and for good reason – because it’s very much unchartered territory as to how this may play out for organisations. At its core, this new employee right means that employees have a right to refuse contact from their employer or related third party (for example a client) outside of their normal working hours, unless the refusal is unreasonable.
This new right came into effect from 26 August 2024 for all non-small businesses and will be effective from 26 August 2025 for small business employees.
Casual Employees
Casual Employment Definition
From 26 August, the revised definition means that the employment relationship will be considered to be a casual engagement where:
- there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work, taking into account a number of factors, and
- the employee is entitled to a casual loading or specific casual pay rate under an award, registered agreement, or employment contract; and
- consideration has been given to the true nature of the employment relationship.
The key change here is that an employee’s casual status will no longer just be determined by the casual employment contract which states the employee is a casual. A range of factors, including the points outlined above, will go into determining if an employee is a casual worker.
Casual Conversion Pathway
The new laws outline how a casual employee can convert to a permanent part-time or full-time employee.
While a casual employee and the employer may agree to a conversion at any time, there is a newly defined ‘employee choice pathway’. The new employee choice pathway enables a casual employee who:
- has been employed for more than 6 months (or more than 12 months if employed by a small business); and
- they believe that they no longer meet the requirements under the new casual employee definition,
then they may notify their employer of their intention to become a part-time or full-time employee.
Independent Contractors
The concept of an Independent Contractor hasn’t changed, that is they usually work for themselves and provide services to another business or person. An Independent Contractor isn’t an employee and therefore there are different rights and obligations under a contractor engagement.
If you have any concerns or questions around how these changes may impact how your people work, or your business operations, speak to your Quantiphy contact on (02) 8373 4000 and if required, we will refer you to HR specialists.
