An excerpt from this month's newsletter...

New Safeguard for Australian Workers

Recent amendments to the Workplace Relations Act 1996 have appointed a Workplace Ombudsman (WO) to take on nationwide responsibility for the protection and enforcement of the rights of workers and employers under Australia’s new workplace relations laws. 

The new WO is a safeguard for Australian workers to turn to when they need independent, impartial and professional advice about workplace rights and obligations. Information and resources are also available from the WO to help employers understand their compliance obligations under the legislation. Some of the new powers that the WO has been given include: ensuring employers comply with their obligations under the new Fairness Test including recovery of underpaid entitlements as well as litigate for penalties, prohibition on dismissing an employee for the sole or dominant reason that an agreement fails, or may fail, the fairness test, prohibition on coercing an existing employee to agree to modify or remove a protected award condition.

Visit www.wo.gov.au or phone the WO helpline on 1300 724 200 for more information. The WO also has 26 offices throughout regional and metropolitan Australia.  

Read more in our Feb 2008 Newsletter>>>

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