The Senate Committee report into the Fair Work Bill has been released, more to follow...
First impressions: (these are very cursory) - the Labor Senators have been fairly conservative in their recommendations, making just 13. I'm glad to see that they have recommended an increase in the time limit to lodge an unfair dismissal claim (from just 7 days to 14). 14 days is still pretty piss-weak but better than 7. The Greens (in a minority report) have made a more reasonable recommendation that it be increased to 21 days.
No recommendation has been made by the majority over access to non-union records (in relation to right of entry investigations). The Senators have rejected claims made in a number of submissions that this would breach the privacy of some employees. I'm fairly convinced that the concerns were over-blown by union groups, but I thought that Labor might throw a recommendation in here to appease these concerns... obviously they thought this was unnecessary!
In transfer of business, the majority have recommended that the probationary period (for old employees transferred over to the new employer) should not be required to be served again. I think this is a welcome move.
Here is a cut and paste of the recommendations from the majority report:
Recommendation 1
The committee majority recommends that the government gives careful consideration to any recommendations of the inquiry into better support for carers being conducted by the House Standing Committee on Family, Community, Housing and Youth on additional measures that should be taken within the workplace relations framework to assist carers.
· In particular, the government should carefully consider any recommendation that the NES be amended to extend the right to request flexible working arrangements for employees caring for a child with a disability and carers of adults in need of care.
· The committee majority also considers that employers and employees should be able to provide in their enterprise agreement that the agreement’s dispute resolution clause can deal with disputes over the right to request flexible working arrangements.
· The committee majority recommends that FWA conduct regular and targeted investigations and analysis to ensure that individual flexibility arrangements are being used in accordance with the Act and are being used to provide genuine individual flexibility.
· The committee majority recommends that the period to access a proposed agreement be extended to 14 days but, where bargaining agents agree, the period be reduced to seven days.
Recommendation 2
The committee majority recommends that the Fair Work Information
Statement include information on individual flexibility agreements (what they are, employee rights and where to go for independent advice), the rights to unfair dismissal claims and how employees may undertake that process. It should also be made available in community languages to assist employees from non-English speaking backgrounds.
Recommendation 3
The committee majority recommends that FWA conduct regular and targeted investigations and analysis to ensure that individual flexibility arrangements are being used in accordance with the Act and are being used to provide genuine individual flexibility.
Recommendation 4
The committee majority recommends that the period to access a proposed agreement be extended to 14 days but, where bargaining agents agree, the period be reduced to seven days.
Recommendation 5
The committee recommends the area of confidential or commercially sensitive information as an area for future review on how good faith bargaining provisions are working.
Recommendation 6
The committee recommends that the bill be amended to provide for a fourteen day time limit within which time appeals against unfair dismissals must be lodged with Fair Work Australia.
Recommendation 7
The committee majority recommends that the Fair Dismissal Code be amended to provide that employers be required to provide a warning in writing, taking into consideration the needs of employees from a non-English speaking background.
Recommendation 8
The committee majority recommends that it would be desirable to ensure consistency of the drafting between these two provisions by providing that where industrial action threatens harm, the threat should be imminent, and the harm to the third party should be economic harm.
Recommendation 9
The committee majority recommends that Community Legal Centres be exempt from being required to seek leave to appear before FWA.
Recommendation 10
The committee majority recommends that a probationary period after a transfer of business should not be required to recommence and they should be treated as existing employees.
Recommendation 11
The committee majority recommends the government accepts the suggestions in this chapter regarding outworkers and implements them as amendments to ensure appropriate protections are in place that recognise the special vulnerability of these workers.
Recommendation 12
The committee majority recommends that the government give careful consideration to the issues raised in the submissions to the committee concerning the coasting trade and has regard to the desirability of ensuring the provision of a decent safety net of employment conditions to workers engaged in that trade.
Recommendation 13
The committee majority recommends that the bill be passed without delay.
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