Incoming in June / July 2023: Further employment law changes

Employment law changes have been frequent and significant since the Labor Government took office in 2022, with changes made around fixed-term engagements, family & domestic violence leave, pay secrecy and multi employer bargaining.

Last week we received further news, which will be important for all Australian business (small and large) to be aware of, these include:

• a 5.75% increase to Award rates and 8.6% to National Minimum Wage (NMW) being introduced on 1 July 2023 (read the official announcement here);

• a 0.5% increase to superannuation rates (up from 10.5% to 11%) being introduced on 1 July 2023; and

• new changes to flexible work arrangements being introduced last week (6 June 2023). 

Under the changes to flexible work, if an employee (who is eligible to make flexible work arrangements) makes a request, the employer has new obligations before they can refuse the request. For example, the employer will have to now:

• discuss the request with the employee;

• make a genuine effort to find alternative arrangements to accommodate the employee’s circumstances;

• consider the consequences of refusal for the employee;

•  provide a written response that includes:

• an explanation of the reasonable business grounds for refusing the request and how these grounds apply to the request

• other changes the employer is willing to make that would accommodate the employee’s circumstances or that says there aren’t any changes

• information about referring a dispute to the Fair Work Commission.

NB: If the employer and the employee have discussed the request and agreed to make changes to the employee’s working arrangements that are different to what the employee requested, the employer now needs to confirm these agreed changes in writing within 21 days of the request.

There are significant penalties (and in some States and circumstances, imprisonment) for breaching minimum entitlements. If you have any questions about the above, or would like assistance for your business (i.e. reviewing your flexible work arrangement policy, carrying out a Modern Award coverage assessment etc.), please feel free to reach out to the Employment + Workplace Relations Team via [email protected].