On the 1st of January 2010 new industrial relations laws came into effect as part of the Fair Work Act. What has this meant for retailers?
On the 1st of January 2010 new industrial relations laws as part of the Fair Work Act came into effect. These concern all employers and employees in the national workplace relations system.
The changes include the introduction of 10 minimum conditions of employment, known as the National Employment Standards (NES) and the commencement of modern awards which set additional minimum standards for a specific industry or occupation, including minimum wages and penalty rates.
In the retail industry there are four key modern awards (as well as various other modern awards covering specific areas of the retail industry):
• General Retail Industry Award 2010;
• Hair and Beauty Industry Award 2010;
• Fast Food Industry Award 2010; and
• Pharmacy Industry Award 2010.
So what has this law change meant for retailers? Survey results released this week from The Australian Retailers Association revealed while 54 percent of retailers have made operational changes to comply with the Fair Work Act more than 83 percent of retailers need to do more before they are fully compliant.
Further interesting facts and figures released by the ARA:
• 40 % of retailers are expecting increases in wage bills and operating costs
• 12% of retailers will shed staff to cope with the new laws
• Almost 36% of retailers will limit hiring new staff
• 41.5% of retailers will make rostering changes
• Over 32% of retailers will give employees less hours
• Over 45% of retailers aren’t sure how the new IR laws will impact their business
More information on the Fair Work Act is available at http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx
The ARA is also conducting free information seminars and webinars with the support of the Australian Government to educate employers, employees and community groups on the new Fair Work legislation. For more information visit http://www.retailseminars.org.au/
Get the latest hot jobs sent straight to your inbox!
Privacy policy | Terms and conditions | Contact us
Retailworld Resourcing is a recruitment agency that specialises in the retail sector. We place people in retail jobs in New Zealand and retail jobs in Australia, throughout all areas and levels within the retail industry.
v1