1.

Maximum weekly hours and the National Employment

Standards
Overview
The NES establish the maximum weekly hours for employees, as well as the circumstances in which an
employee may refuse a request or requirement to work additional hours if the hours are unreasonable.
They also set out arrangements for the averaging of hours of work under an award or agreement, or by
agreement between an employer and an award/ agreement-free employee.
What are the maximum weekly hours of work?
An employer must not request or require an employee to work more than the following hours of work in a
week, unless the additional hours are reasonable:
for a full-time employee, 38 hours or
for an employee other than a full-time employee, the lesser of:
38 hours
the employees ordinary hours of work in a week.

The hours an employee works in a week must be taken to include any hours of leave or absence (paid or
unpaid) that is authorised:
by the employer or
by or under a term of the employees employment or
by or under a Commonwealth, State or Territory law, or an instrument in force under such a law.
An employee may refuse to work additional hours if they are unreasonable.
What factors determine whether additional hours are reasonable?
In determining whether additional hours are reasonable or unreasonable, the following must be taken into
account:
any risk to employee health and safety
the employees personal circumstances, including family responsibilities
the needs of the workplace or enterprise
whether the employee is entitled to receive overtime payments, penalty rates or other compensation for
(or a level of remuneration that reflects an expectation of ) working additional hours
any notice given by the employer to work the additional hours
any notice given by the employee of his or her intention to refuse to work the additional hours
the usual patterns of work in the industry
the nature of the employees role and the employees level of responsibility
whether the additional hours are in accordance with averaging provisions included in an award or
agreement that is applicable to the employee, or an averaging arrangement agreed to by an employer and an
award/agreement-free employee
any other relevant matter.




2. Requests for flexible working arrangements and the National Employment
Standards
Overview
The NES include a right for certain employees to request flexible working arrangements (such as changes
in hours of work) from their employer. An employer can only refuse such a request on reasonable business
grounds.
Who is eligible to make a request for a flexible working arrangement?
An employee may request a change in their working arrangements from their employer if they require
flexibility because they:
are the parent, or have responsibility for the care, of a child who is of school age or younger
are a carer (within the meaning of the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
have a disability
are 55 or older
are experiencing violence from a member of their family, or
provide care or support to a member of their immediate family or household, who requires care or support
because they are experiencing violence from their family.

If an employee is the parent of a child or has responsibility for the care of a child and is returning to work after
taking parental or adoption leave, the employee may request to return to work on a part-time basis to help them
care for the child.

Examples of changes in working arrangements may include:
changes in hours of work (e.g. reduction in hours worked, changes to start/finish times),
changes in patterns of work (e.g. working split-shifts or job sharing arrangements)
changes in location of work (e.g. working from home or another location).
Employees are not entitled to make the request unless they have completed at least 12 months of
continuous service with their employer immediately before making the request.
Casual employees are entitled to make a request if:
they have been employed by the employer on a regular and systematic basis for a sequence of periods of
employment of at least 12 months immediately before making the request
there is a reasonable expectation of continuing employment by the employer on a regular and systematic
basis.
What are the requirements for making and approving a request for a change to working
arrangements?
The request must be made in writing and set out details of the change sought and reasons for the change.
Employers must give employees a written response to the request within 21 days, stating whether they
grant or refuse the request. Employers may refuse the request only on reasonable business grounds. If the
employer refuses the request, the written response must include the reasons for the refusal.




3. Parental leave and related entitlements and the
National Employment Standards

Overview
The NES establish minimum entitlements to unpaid parental leave and related entitlements, which apply
to all employees in Australia.
Parental leave provisions include birth-related leave and adoption-related leave, and also recognise same
sex de facto relationships.
In addition to unpaid parental leave, the NES also provide the following related entitlements:
unpaid special maternity leave
a right to transfer to a safe job in appropriate cases, or to take no safe job leave
consultation requirements
a return to work guarantee
unpaid pre-adoption leave.
Which employees are eligible for unpaid parental leave?
All employees in Australia are eligible for unpaid parental leave if they have completed at least 12 months
of continuous service with their employer.
This includes casual employees, but only if:
they have been employed by the employer on a regular and systematic basis for a sequence of periods over
at least 12 months
had it not been for the birth (or expected birth) or adoption (or expected adoption) of a child, they would have
a reasonable expectation of continuing employment by the employer on a regular and systematic basis.
What is the entitlement to parental leave?
Each eligible member of an employee couple may take a separate period of up to 12 months of unpaid
parental leave. However, if only one person is taking leave, or if one member of an employee couple wishes to
take more than 12 months leave, the employee may request a further period of up to 12 months, from their
employer.
An employee couple is where two employees (not necessarily of the same employer) are in a spousal or
de facto relationship.
Parental leave is only available to employees who have or will have responsibility for the care of a child.
The leave must be associated with:
the birth of a child to the employee, the employees spouse, or the employees de facto partner, or
the placement of a child under 16 with the employee for adoption.
The child of a person is defined by the Family Law Act 1975 as someone who is a persons biological,
adopted or step child.
An employees de facto partner is defined as a person who, although not legally married to the employee,
lives with them in a relationship as a couple on a genuine domestic basis. Former de facto partners are also
included.
The Fair Work Act 2009 ensures that same sex de facto relationships are recognised for unpaid parental
leave entitlements. This means that the same sex de facto partner of either a person who gives birth or a
biological parent may be eligible to take unpaid birth-related leave.



4. Annual leave and the National Employment Standards
Overview
The NES establish the minimum entitlements to annual leave, the circumstances about when annual leave
can be taken, and the rate of pay employees should be paid.
The NES also set out what happens with annual leave when there is a transfer of employment, and
the arrangements that apply to the cashing out of annual leave.
An employee is still entitled to annual leave accrued prior to 1 January 2010, subject to the rules for taking
or cashing out annual leave contained under the NES.
What are the minimum entitlements to annual leave?
An employee (other than a casual employee) is entitled to four weeks of paid annual leave for each year of
service with the employer. An employees entitlement to annual leave accrues on a continuous basis according
to the number of ordinary hours they worked. Annual leave continues to accrue when an employee takes a
period of paid annual leave or paid personal/carers leave. Annual leave will not accrue on unpaid leave unless
it is community service leave or it is provided for in an award or agreement.
An employee classified as a shiftworker is entitled to five weeks paid annual leave. This is the case if an
award or agreement applies to the employee, and defines or describes the employee as a shiftworker for the
purposes of the NES.
An award or agreement-free employee can also qualify for the shiftworker entitlement of five weeks annual
leave if all of the following apply to the employee:
they are employed in an enterprise where shifts are continuously rostered 24 hours a day for seven days
a week
they are regularly rostered to work those shifts
they regularly work on Sundays and public holidays.
Awards and agreements may supplement the NES by providing for additional annual leave entitlements.
Award or agreement-free employees may agree with their employer to purchase extra annual leave in
exchange for forgoing an equivalent amount of pay.
When can paid annual leave be taken?
Annual leave under the NES does not have to be taken each year, as the entitlement can accumulate. It is
up to each employer and employee to agree on when and for how long paid annual leave may be taken.
However, the employer must not unreasonably refuse an employees request to take paid annual leave.
There is no maximum or minimum period of annual leave that may be taken.
An employee is not on paid annual leave if the period during which an employee takes paid annual leave:
includes a day or part-day that is a public holiday
includes a period of any other leave (other than unpaid parental leave), or a period of absence from
employment due to community service leave.
In certain circumstances, an employer can direct an employee to take annual leave. In order for an
employer to be able to do this, an award or agreement must include terms that require an employee to take
paid annual leave, or allow the employee to be directed to take leave. The requirement in the award or
agreement must be reasonable. Similarly, the NES allow an employer to require an award or agreement-free
employee to take a period of annual leave, but only if the requirement is reasonable.
A requirement to take paid annual leave may be reasonable if, for example:
the employee has accrued an excessive amount of paid annual leave
the employers enterprise is being shut down for a period (such as between Christmas and New Year).
In assessing reasonableness, the following factors are relevant:
the needs of the employee and the employers business
any agreed arrangement with the employee
custom and practice of the business


timing of the direction or requirement to take leave
reasonableness of the period of notice given.
An award or agreement can include terms dealing with the taking of paid annual leave. An employer and an
award or agreement-free employee may agree on when and how paid annual leave may be taken.
Matters that could be either incorporated into an award or agreement, or agreed upon, include:
that paid annual leave may be taken in advance of accrual
that paid annual leave must be taken within a fixed period of time after it is accrued
that a specified period of notice must be given before taking paid annual leave.
What payments are required when annual leave is taken?
When annual leave is taken, the minimum requirement is that an employee must be paid at their base rate
of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the period. An employees base rate of pay (other
than a pieceworker) is the rate of pay payable to an employee for his or her ordinary hours of work, but not
including any of the following:
incentive-based payments and bonuses loadings
monetary allowances
overtime or penalty rates
any other separately identifiable amounts.
On termination of employment, an employer must pay an employee in respect to any period of untaken
paid annual leave.
Is annual leave payable on a transfer of employment?
The transfer of employment provisions under the Fair Work Act 2009 essentially apply when an employee
moves from one employer (the old employer) to another employer (the new employer) within three months, and
there is a transfer of business involved (through a transfer of assets, outsourcing, insourcing), or the two
employers are associated entities.
If these conditions are satisfied, the period of service with the old employer will generally count as service
with the new employer for the purposes of entitlements under the Fair Work Act 2009. If this applies, an
employee is not entitled to be paid for a period of untaken annual leave under the NES in relation to termination
of their employment with the old employer.
However, there are exceptions to this general principle. A new employer that is not an associated entity of
the old employer has the option to not recognise a transferring employees previous service for the purposes of
NES entitlements to annual leave. If the new employer does not recognise an employees service in relation to
annual leave, the old employer will be required to pay out the employees untaken annual leave.
For more information on the transfer of business provisions and the impact on employee entitlements,
please see the Fair Work Ombudsman Fact Sheet Transfer of Business.
Can annual leave be cashed out?
For employees covered by an award or agreement, cashing out of annual leave is permitted if the award or
agreement allows the practice. Award or agreement-free employees may agree to cash out annual leave at any
time.
However, in all cases the following applies:
the employee must retain an entitlement to at least four weeks paid annual leave
there must be a separate agreement in writing on each occasion
the employee must be paid at least the full amount that would have been payable had the employee taken the
leave the employee has cashed out.
It is unlawful for an employer to force (or try to force) an employee to make (or not make) an agreement to
cash out annual leave. For more information, please see the Fair Work Ombudsman Fact Sheet General
Workplace Protections.

5. Personal/carers leave and compassionate leave and the National
Employment Standards

Overview
The NES establish minimum entitlements for permanent employees to receive:
paid personal/carers leave
unpaid carers leave
paid or unpaid compassionate leave.

These forms of leave are designed to help an employee deal with personal illness, caring responsibilities,
family emergencies, and the death or serious illness of close family members.
Casual employees are eligible for unpaid carers leave and unpaid compassionate leave.
Personal/carers leave
What are the minimum entitlements to personal/carers leave?
The term personal/carers leave effectively covers both sick leave and carers leave. The minimum
entitlement to paid personal/carers leave for an employee (other than a casual employee) is 10 days per year.
An employees entitlement to paid personal/carers leave accrues progressively during a year of service
according to the number of ordinary hours worked, and can accumulate from year to year.
Personal/carers leave continues to accrue when an employee takes a period of paid personal/carers leave
or paid annual leave. Unless it is provided for in an award or agreement, personal leave will not accrue on any
form of unpaid leave.
When can paid personal/carers leave be taken?
An employee may take paid personal/carers leave:
if they are unfit for work because of their own personal illness (including pregnancy-related illness) or injury
or
to provide care or support to a member of their immediate family or household, because of a personal
illness, injury or unexpected emergency affecting the member. A member of the employees immediate family
means a spouse, de facto partner, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of an employee; or a child,
parent, grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employees spouse or de facto partner.
However, if the period during which an employee takes paid personal/carers leave includes a day or part-day
that is a public holiday, the employee is not on paid personal/ carers leave on that public holiday.
What payments are required when personal/ carers leave is taken?
When paid personal/carers leave is taken, the minimum requirement is that an employee must be paid at
their base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the period. An employees base
rate of pay (other than a pieceworker) is the rate of pay payable to an employee for his or her ordinary hours of
work, but not including any of the following:
incentive-based payments and bonuses
loadings
monetary allowances
overtime or penalty rates
any other separately identifiable amounts.

Can paid personal/carers leave be cashed out?
For employees covered by an award or agreement, cashing out of paid personal/carers leave is permitted
if all of the following applies:
the award or agreement allows the practice
there is a separate agreement in writing on each occasion
the employee retains a balance of at least 15 days of untaken paid personal/carers leave
the employee is paid at least the full amount that would have been payable had the employee taken
the leave they have cashed out.
It is unlawful for an employer to force (or try to force) an employee to make (or not make) an agreement to
cash out personal/carers leave under a term included in an award or agreement.
An award/agreement-free employee is not able to cash out paid personal/carers leave.
Unpaid carers leave
What are the minimum entitlements to unpaid carers leave?
An employee (including a casual employee) is entitled to two days of unpaid carers leave for each
occasion when a member of the employees immediate family or household requires care or support because
of a personal illness, injury, or an unexpected emergency.
An employee may take unpaid carers leave for each occasion as a single continuous period of up to two
days, or any separate periods to which the employee and his or her employer agree. An employee cannot take
unpaid carers leave during a particular period if the employee could instead take paid personal/carers leave.
(This does not apply to casuals who have no entitlement to paid personal/carers leave.)
Compassionate leave
What are the minimum entitlements to compassionate leave?
An employee (including a casual employee) is entitled to two days of compassionate leave to spend time
with a member of their immediate family or household who has sustained a life-threatening illness or injury.
Compassionate leave may also be taken after the death of a member of the employees immediate family or
household.
An employee may take compassionate leave for each occasion as:
a single continuous two day period or
two separate periods of one day each or
any separate periods to which the employee and his or her employer agree.
What payments are required when compassionate leave is taken?
If an employee (other than a casual employee) takes a period of compassionate leave, the employer must
pay the employee at the employees base rate of pay for the ordinary hours they would have worked during the
period.
As mentioned above, casual employees are not entitled to any paid personal/carers leave or
compassionate leave. However, casuals are entitled to unpaid carers leave or compassionate leave.
Are there notice and evidence requirements?
For all periods of personal/carers leave or compassionate leave, an employee must give his or her
employer notice of the taking of such leave.
The notice must be given to the employer as soon as practicable (which may be a time after the leave has
started), and must advise the employer of the period, or expected period, of the leave.
An employer is entitled to request evidence that would substantiate the reason for leave. A failure to either
provide notice or, if required, evidence that would satisfy a reasonable person to substantiate the reasons for
the leave, means the employee is not entitled to the leave.


An award or agreement may include terms relating to the kind of evidence that an employee must provide
in order to be entitled to paid personal/carers leave, unpaid carers leave or compassionate leave. For
example, an employer may request that the employee provides a medical certificate.
6. Community service leave and the National
Employment Standards

Overview
From 1 January 2010, there is an entitlement to certain forms of community service leave under the NES.
This provides employees with a right to be absent from work to engage in prescribed community service
activities, such as emergency service duties and jury service.
What is community service leave?
Employees, including casual employees, are entitled to be absent from work for the purpose of performing
certain community service activities such as:
a voluntary emergency management activity
jury service (including attendance for jury selection) that is required by or under a law of the Commonwealth, a
State or a Territory.

What is a voluntary emergency management activity?
An employee engages in a voluntary emergency management activity only if they:
engage in an activity that involves dealing with an emergency or natural disaster
the employee engages in the activity on a voluntary basis
the employee is a member of, or has a member- like association with, a recognised emergency management
body and either:
the employee was requested by or on behalf of the body to engage in the activity or
no such request was made, but it would be reasonable to expect that if the circumstances had permitted the
making of such a request, it is likely that such a request would have been made.

What is a recognised emergency management body?
A recognised emergency management body is:
a body or part of a body, that has a role or function under a plan that:
is for coping with emergencies and/or disasters
is prepared by the Commonwealth, a State or a Territory
a fire-fighting, civil defence or rescue body, or part of such a body
any other body, or part of a body, which substantially involves:
securing the safety of persons or animals in an emergency or natural disaster
protecting property in an emergency or natural disaster
otherwise responding to an emergency or natural disaster.
This would include bodies such as the State Emergency Service (SES), Country Fire Authority (CFA) or the
RSPCA (in respect of animal rescue).
How much leave is an employee entitled to?
There is no set limit on the amount of community service leave an employee is entitled to.
An employee is entitled to be absent from his or her employment:

for the time that the employee is engaged in the eligible community service activity, including reasonable
travelling time associated with the activity, and reasonable rest time immediately following the activity
if the absence is reasonable in all the circumstances (jury service is taken to always be reasonable).
7. Long service leave and the National Employment
Standards

Overview
The NES set out the entitlement to long service leave. This entitlement is a transitional entitlement pending
the development of a uniform national long service standard.
What entitlements to long service leave will apply?
Under the NES, an employee is entitled to long service leave in accordance with their applicable pre-
modernised award. Modern awards (from 1 January 2010) cannot include terms dealing with long service
leave.
However, an employees long service leave entitlement derived from a pre-modernised award does not
apply where:
a collective agreement, an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) made after 26 March 2006, or an Individual
Transitional Employment Agreement (ITEA) came into operation before the commencement of the NES, and
applies to the employee or
one of the following kinds of instruments came into operation before the commencement of the NES, applies to
the employee, and expressly deals with long service leave:
an enterprise agreement agreements made after 1 July 2009 and approved by the Fair Work Commission
a preserved State agreement an agreement made in the State system before 26 March 2006
a workplace determination made by the Fair Work Commission
a certified agreement an agreement made before 26 March 2006
an AWA made before 26 March 2006
a section 170MX award an award made by the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) before 26
March 2006 after terminating a bargaining period
an old IR agreement an agreement approved by the AIRC before December 1996.

When one of the above specified instruments ceases to operate, an employee is entitled to long service
leave in accordance with an applicable pre-modernised award.
8. Public Holidays
Overview
The NES provide an entitlement for employees to be absent from work on a day or part-day that is a public
holiday.
The NES protect an employees workplace right to reasonably refuse to work on a public holiday, and will
guarantee payment where an employee is absent from work because of a public holiday.
Employees are protected from adverse action for having, using, or seeking to use their workplace right to
reasonably refuse to work on a public holiday.
What days are public holidays?
The following days are public holidays under the NES:
1 January (New Years Day)

26 January (Australia Day)
Good Friday
Easter Monday
25 April (Anzac Day)
Queens birthday holiday (the day on which it is celebrated in a State or Territory or a region of a State or
Territory)
25 December (Christmas Day)
26 December (Boxing Day)
any other day or part-day declared or prescribed by or under a law of a State or Territory to be observed
generally within the State or Territory (or a region of the State or Territory) as a public holiday.
Can a public holiday be substituted for another day?
If, under the law of a State or Territory, a day or part-day is substituted for any of the above days or part-
days, then the substituted day or part-day is the public holiday.
An award or agreement may include provisions for an employer and employee to agree to substitute the
above days or part-days for another day or part-day. Furthermore, an employer and an award/agreement-free
employee may agree to substitute the above days or part-days for another day or part-day.
An employer must not exert undue influence or pressure on an employee in relation to agreeing to
substitute a public holiday for another day or part-day.
What are reasonable grounds for requesting or refusing to work on a public
holiday?
In determining whether a request (or a refusal of such a request) to work on a public holiday is reasonable,
the following must be taken into account:
the nature of the employers workplace (including its operational requirements) and the nature of the work
performed by the employee
the employees personal circumstances, including family responsibilities
whether the employee could reasonably expect that the employer might request work on the public holiday
whether the employee is entitled to receive overtime payments, penalty rates, additional remuneration or
other compensation that reflects an expectation of work on the public holiday
the type of employment (e.g. full-time, part-time, casual or shiftwork)
the amount of notice in advance of the public holiday given by the employer when making the request
the amount of notice in advance of the public holiday given by the employee in refusing the request
any other relevant matter.
What payment is required for an absence from work due to a public holiday?
If an employee is absent from work on a day or part-day that is a public holiday, the employer must pay the
employee (other than a casual employee) the base rate of pay for the employees ordinary hours of work on
that day or part-day. The base rate of pay to be paid excludes incentive-based payments and bonuses,
loadings, monetary allowances, overtime or penalty rates, or any other separately identifiable amounts.
However, an employee is not entitled to payment if they do not have ordinary hours of work on the public
holiday.
For example, a part-time employee is not entitled to payment if their part-time hours do not include the day
of the week on which the public holiday falls.

Illustrative example
Stephanie is a full-time employee who usually works overtime in addition to her ordinary hours of work on
Tuesdays. She receives penalty rates for these overtime hours under the applicable modern award. Stephanie
is absent on the public holiday on Tuesday, 26 January 2010, and is entitled to her base rate of pay for her
ordinary hours. She is not entitled to payment for the overtime hours she would have usually worked had it not
been a public holiday.
Stephanies colleague John is a part-time employee who is rostered to work Wednesday to Friday each
week. As Johns ordinary hours of work do not include Tuesdays, he is not entitled to payment for the public
holiday on 26 January 2010.
9. Notice of termination and redundancy pay and the
National Employment Standards
Overview
The NES establish the minimum period of notice, or payment in lieu of notice, that an employer must give
an employee to terminate their employment. The provisions about notice of termination apply to all employees
(other than casuals), not just those covered by the national workplace relations system.
The NES also set out what redundancy pay may be applicable to an employee on the termination of their
employment. The redundancy entitlement under the NES only applies to employees covered by the national
workplace relations system.
Notice of termination
An employer must not terminate an employees employment (subject to the exceptions set out below)
unless they have given the employee written notice of the day of the termination.
An employer may give notice to the employee by:
delivering it personally, or
leaving it at the employees last known address, or
sending it by pre-paid post to the employees last known address.

What amount of notice must be given?
An employer must not terminate an employee unless they have:
given the minimum period of notice (see table below) or
paid the employee in lieu of notice at the full rate of pay for at least the hours the employee would have
worked had the employment continued until the end of the minimum period of notice (see table below).
An employees full rate of pay (other than a pieceworker) is the rate of pay payable to an employee,
including all the following:
incentive-based payments and bonuses
loadings
monetary allowances
overtime or penalty rates
any other separately identifiable amounts.
Employees period of continuous service
with the employer at the end of the day the
notice is given
Period
Not more than 1 year 1 week
More than 1 year but not more than 3
years
2 weeks
More than 3 years but not more than 5
years
3 weeks
More than 5 years 4 weeks
If the employee is over 45 years old, and has completed at least two years of service at the end of the day
notice is given, the employee receives an additional one weeks notice.
The minimum periods of notice apply to all employees employed in Australia (subject to the exceptions
noted below).
An award or agreement may include terms specifying the period of notice an employee must give in order
to terminate his or her employment.
Does notice of termination apply to all employees?
An employer does not need to provide notice of termination (or payment in lieu of notice) to any of
the following employees:
an employee employed for a specified period of time, for a specified task, or for the duration of a specified
season
an employee whose employment is terminated because of serious misconduct (for example, an employee
who has, in the course of their employment, engaged in theft, fraud or assault)
a casual employee
an employee (other than an apprentice) to whom a training arrangement applies and whose employment is for
a specified period of time or is, for any reason, limited to the duration of the training arrangement
a daily hire employee working in the building and construction industry (including working in connection with
the erection, repair, renovation, maintenance, ornamentation or demolition of buildings or structures)
a daily hire employee working in the meat industry in connection with the slaughter of livestock
a weekly hire employee working in connection with the meat industry and whose termination of employment is
determined solely by seasonal factors.
10. Fair Work Information Statement and the National
Employment Standards
Overview
The Statement must be given to each new employee commencing employment from 1 January 2010.
The Statement is published by the Fair Work Ombudsman and must be published in the Commonwealth
Government Notices Gazette (the Gazette). If the Fair Work Ombudsman changes the Statement in any way,
they must publish the new version in the Gazette.
What information must be contained in the Statement?
The Statement contains information about the following:
the NES
modern awards
agreement-making under the Fair Work Act 2009
the right to freedom of association
the role of the Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman
termination of employment
individual flexibility arrangements
right of entry (including the protection of personal information by privacy laws)
an explanation of the effect on an employees entitlements under the NES if both of the following occur:
a transfer of a business occurs as described in the Fair Work Act 2009
the employee becomes a transferring employee.