Employment Legislation Changes – 6 May 2019

Employers are required by law to have written employment agreements in place for all employees.  It might be a good time to review your existing employment agreements.

From 6 May 2019, failure to provide a written employment agreement will be an offence.

The infringement fee for a breach of this nature is $1,000.

90 day trial period/Probation period

Employers with 20 or more employees will no longer be able to use the 90 day trial period. However, any trial period which commenced before 6 May and is still active at this date will be valid until the full 90 days is complete.

There is a “probation period” which the Government has suggested as an alternative to the trial period.  This would be available to employers of any size but there are significant differences between the trial period and the probation period.

Employers with fewer than 20 staff will retain the ability to use the trial period.

Rest and Meal Breaks

Mandatory rest and meal breaks will be restored as of 6 May 2019.

There is no requirement for Employers to pay for minimum meal breaks but they are required to pay for rest breaks.

Unions / Collective Bargaining

New requirements have been brought in for collective bargaining; please contact us if you need more information.