In July 2023, modifications had been launched to the Honest Work Act to align with the Australian Authorities’s new Defending
Worker Entitlement legal guidelines.
The amendments embrace modifications to the
Defending Employee Entitlements (PWE) Invoice that goals to eradicate exploitative work situations and defend migrant staff.
The change spells out that migrant staff in Australia will probably be protected, and be paid their office rights and entitlements, no matter their immigration standing beneath the Migration Act 1958. It additionally clarifies {that a} violation of the Migration Act doesn’t influence the validity of a migrant employee’s employment or service contracts, even in circumstances the place the migrant employee has violated their visa situations, lacks work rights, or doesn’t have the authorized proper to remain in Australia.
Let’s unpack why these modifications matter and the way employers want to interact and handle migrant staff.
A Nearer Take a look at the Adjustments
As famous, a provision throughout the
PWE (Defending Employee Entitlements) Invoice 2023, ensures that migrant staff obtain safety beneath the Honest Work Act 2009 (FW Act), even when they don’t absolutely adjust to their immigration legal guidelines or visa situations.
This modification serves to guard migrant staff to supply the identical rights and entitlements beneath office legal guidelines that different workers working in Australia have and to restrict migrant employee exploitation.
This provision additionally establishes legal offenses for employers who use coercion or pressure to compel short-term migrant staff to work in violation of the phrases of their visa situations. In different phrases, it makes it unlawful for employers to stress or manipulate migrant staff into doing work that goes towards the situations specified of their visas, comparable to underpayment or longer work hours.
This implies even migrant staff who lack correct work authorisation or have visa discrepancies, comparable to not having the best to be in Australia or breaching a visa situation are entitled to the identical wages and situations as each different employee.
While the migrant staff who could also be illegally staying in Australia or flouting their work situations might face penalties beneath the Migration Act, they won’t be denied their rightful compensation for hours labored.
Why This Issues: A Step In the direction of Moral Employment
A number of Australian companies have been discovered responsible of migrant employee exploitation. In 2017 for instance,
a 7-Eleven franchise was uncovered for underpaying staff thousands and thousands of {dollars}, lots of which had been worldwide pupil staff, highlighting the significance of clear work entitlements, justice, and safety for short-term migrant staff.
Implications for Employers: Simplifying Compliance
A part of an employer’s duty is to know and abide by a employee’s proper to work, together with abiding by visa situations which might change at any time.
Options like WorkPro’s Visa Entitlement Verification Workplace (VEVO) verification and automatic polling operate can help by checking every employee’s proper to work on the graduation of employment, and mechanically persevering with to examine the visa at an everyday interval, flagging any impending visa modifications, and offering a report that rapidly means that you can keep knowledgeable and proactively handle any modifications, avoiding potential penalties and reputational injury.
The truth is that employers mustn’t make use of or have interaction staff who should not have the best to work and abide by any situations.
The modifications to the Act point out that employee exploitation stays a difficulty, and given the amendments, does counsel that Honest Work is prone to deploy a marketing campaign to make sure employers are adhering to the obligations. It’s subsequently greatest follow to make sure you have processes that transparently meet the requirement, and you may confidentially show your practices if required, together with a transparent audit path.
Advancing In the direction of a Way forward for Equitable Employment
As we adapt to the provisions of recent laws, it is clear that the panorama of Australian employment is evolving. WorkPro is dedicated to guiding employers, HR, and recruitment and hiring groups by way of these modifications with effectivity and experience. Our focus ensures that staying compliant with evolving laws is easy, eradicating complexity from the method.
WorkPro’s instruments are designed to streamline the compliance course of, permitting companies to deal with what they do greatest whereas sustaining moral employment practices.
