Update - On March 27 2008 the Federal Government made changes to current employment law as part of their new Industrial Relations policy. The industrial relations system is currently in transition as a result, and this page is no longer 100% accurate. Until we update this information, to find out how this new system might affect you and your employment rights, check out our Changes to the industrial relations system page.
No matter what kind of job you have, no matter whether you're employed according to an Award, an AWA or some other kind of contract, there are certain rights that you are always entitled to.
Permanent full-time or part-time employees
As a permanent employee, whether you're part-time or full-time, regardless of what kind of employment agreement or contract you're on, there are five minimum conditions that it must include.
If you’re a permanent full-time employee you must at least get:
- Minimum wages (these are set by the Australian Fair Pay Commission)
- Maximum ordinary working hours of 38 hours per week
- Four weeks of annual leave every year (plus one extra week if you’re a shift worker)
- 52 weeks of unpaid parental leave
- 10 days of paid personal leave every year (this includes sick leave and carer’s leave)
These five basic rights can’t be taken away from you in any job.
The only difference between full-time and part-time employees is that if you’re a permanent part-time employee you’re entitled to the above minimum conditions in proportion to the number of hours that you work (for example, if you only work two and a half days a week, you will get fifty percent of the annual leave that a full-time employee would: two weeks).
Other conditions like:
- Rest breaks
- Penalty rates for overtime or working weekends and public holidays
- Annual leave holiday loading
are not guaranteed and are up for negotiation with your employer.
If your employment agreement or contract doesn’t have these five minimum conditions, call the Office of the Workplace Rights Advocate on 1300 882 648 or Job Watch on (03) 9662 1933 or 1800 331 617 to find out what you can do about it.
Casual workers
Things are a bit different if you’re a casual worker. Casual workers aren't annual leave or sick leave, though there are some exceptions to this if you’ve been doing the same casual job for a long time.
To make up for the benefits you’re missing out on, casual employees get a higher hourly rate of pay than permanent workers. This should be around 15 - 25% more per hour than a permanent worker doing the same job.
For more about casual work, check out our Casual work page.
Awards
If you’re covered by an award you have other rights at work that are protected by law - as long as you haven’t signed an agreement that removes or changes them.
Protected awards conditions can include:
- Extra pay for shift work or overtime (penalty rates)
- Public holidays
- Rest breaks
- Incentive-based payments and bonuses
- Annual leave loadings
- Allowances (for meals, clothing, equipment, etc.)
The thing to remember is that there are differences between the rights of permanent and casual workers. Make sure you understand what you’re entitled to before you sign an agreement or contract.
If you need more information, call the Workplace Rights Information Line on 1300 882 648 and check out our Know your rights interactive guide.
