Laws that apply to me

What does the Long Service Act 2018 mean for me?

Important changes have come into place under the Long Service Leave Act 2018 (Vic).

My employer has changed my regular hours of work. What are my legal rights?

If an employer is seeking to change your working hours, they must ensure they are acting within the confines of the law. This includes adhering to contractual obligations, engaging in appropriate consultation and ensuring that the change is not a result of any discriminatory reasons.

Am I able to record conversations with managers / other employees?

Advances in modern technology make it extremely easy to covertly record conversations in the workplace with managers or other employees. The Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) and other legal precedence set limitations on when recordings can be used to support an employee’s case.

I have been given a warning letter I do not agree with. Do I have to sign it and how I do contest it?

You are not required to sign a warning letter and you should certainly not do so if you consider the warning to be unjust or unreasonable.

What processes should a company follow before making a redundancy payment to you?

If you believe your employer has unfairly or unjustly made your position redundant, it may have failed to follow procedural requirements surrounding the redundancy of your position. Your employer is obliged to follow a process prior to making the redundancy package payment.

Can my employer force me to take annual leave over the Christmas holidays?

With over a quarter of Australian workers forced to take annual leave over the Christmas holidays when business is slow or shut down, it is critical that employees understand their rights in relation to mandated leave.

The general rule is that employers are entitled to direct employees to take annual leave where the request is reasonable. This includes situations where:

• the employee has accrued excessive annual leave; or
• the employer’s operations are temporarily shut down.

Am I entitled to be paid out my owed time in lieu upon being made redundant?

Being made redundant can be an incredibly stressful time for any employee.  With all the upheaval, it can be unclear what rights you have available to you as an employee. While the process of seeing through a redundancy can be quite complex, it is important to understand what you are entitled to in order to ensure you receive what you are duly owed.

Do I have a right to know what allegations have been made against me and a right to the investigation results?

An employee has a right to procedural fairness during an investigation process into allegations raised against him/her. This means, that the employee has a right to defend themselves against allegations made against them.

Can my employer force me to join a union?

Unions play an important role in the workplace by representing the interests of employees during workplace disputes and acting as a bargaining representative during negotiations. However, it is unlawful for your employer to force you to join a union.

I have been bullied at work but I am employed by an agency, do I have legal rights?

You are classified as a labour hire employee if you have an employment contract with an agency but you are assigned to perform work for another organisation (the host). In recent years, the use of labour hire employees has grown significantly and businesses now routinely look to agencies to provide their ongoing labour needs.

I have fallen pregnant again while on maternity leave, am I able to take a further period of leave?

It is commonplace for an employee to fall pregnant again while on maternity leave for their first pregnancy. In this case, an employee may request an extension of their maternity leave, depending on how long the original period granted to them was for.

My workplace has been moved to an unreasonable location, am I entitled to a redundancy?

The assignment of a new work place location can place a burden on an employee in the form of time, cost or even where that employee can live. In circumstances where an employee is worse off due to a relocation that employee may be entitled to claim a redundancy entitlement.