Employment Law
Fair Work Act - Bargaining
When a new workplace agreement is to be made, it is compulsory for employers to bargain in good faith if the majority of employees request it.
Signs of good faith include attending and taking part in meetings at reasonable times and disclosing relevant information.
Fair Work Australia will be empowered to help with bargaining in the case of multi-enterprise agreements for employees in certain low paid industries that can’t access the benefits of collective bargaining. Examples of low paid industries include childcare, aged care, community services, security and cleaning.
Low-paid employees can also make individual applications to Fair Work Australia (FWA) to get help putting in place an agreement with their employers.
FWA may also step in when:
- bargaining representatives are not bargaining in good faith; or
- the bargaining process is not proceeding efficiently or fairly because there are multiple bargaining representatives;
- bargaining representatives are unable to resolve a dispute.
