Fair Work Commission

Overview

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Minimum entitlements for wages and conditions of employment are most often found in enterprise agreements or modern awards. Employers must provide their employees with at least their minimum entitlements.

Some employees are not covered by an award or an enterprise agreement. For these employees, a national minimum wage order provides a safety net of minimum wages.

The National Employment Standards (NES) are minimum standards that cannot be overridden by the terms of enterprise agreements or awards.

Agreements

Your minimum wages and conditions are most likely to be set by an enterprise agreement.

Most enterprise agreements include:

• wage rates
• employment conditions (eg hours of work, meal breaks, overtime)
• a consultation process
• dispute resolution procedures
• deductions from wages for any purpose authorised by an employee.

Enterprise agreements cannot include unlawful content (such as discriminatory or objectionable terms).

Awards

If you are not covered by an agreement, your minimum wages and conditions are likely to be set by a modern award.

The modern award will deal with:

• minimum wage rates
• annual leave, and annual leave loading
• other types of leave
• hours of work
• penalty rates, overtime and casual rates
• allowances
• consultation, and
• many other minimum conditions.

National minimum wage orders

Employees who are not covered by an award or agreement will have their minimum wage set by the national minimum wage orders.

National employment standards

Minimum wages and conditions in agreements and awards for all employees are underpinned by the NES.

The NES relate to the following matters:

• maximum weekly hours
• requests for flexible working arrangements
• casual conversion
• parental leave and related entitlements
• annual leave
• personal/carer's leave and compassionate leave
• community service leave
• long service leave
• public holidays
• notice of termination and redundancy pay, and
• the Fair Work Information Statement.