Employee Benefits and Entitlements

Australia has highly developed employment regulations that mandate employee benefits and entitlements. Under these regulations, employers must offer employees statutory benefits such as annual leave, flexible work arrangements, and superannuation contributions. While the Fair Work Act 2009 dictates the mandatory minimum employee entitlements for most workers, many employers offer extra benefits to attract and retain staff. This article explores employee benefits and entitlements in Australia.

Who is entitled to employee benefits?

Australian employment law applies to workers nationwide, regardless of the worker’s nationality or citizenship. Even an individual working for an Australian company while residing overseas may be entitled to statutory employment entitlements. Under workplace laws, full-time and part-time employees have full statutory benefits, with reduced entitlement for casual workers. Independent contractors do not have the same protections and entitlements as employees.

Statutory framework

In Australia, there are far-reaching employment laws at both the federal and state levels. The Fair Work Act is the primary federal law governing all employers and employees across the country. This Act mandates certain employment and minimum conditions, including work hours, leave entitlements, minimum wages, and redundancy terms. The employment law is built around the National Employment Standards (NES), which create consistent employment entitlements and ensure that Australian workers are treated fairly. Employers must provide new employees with either a Fair Work Information Statement or a Casual Employment Information Statement so they are aware of their entitlements under the NES.

All employees have minimum entitlements under the NES, though casual workers can only access some of the entitlements. Contractual agreements, awards and enterprise agreements can exceed these minimum benefits but cannot provide employees in the national workplace relationship system with less than the NES entitlements. Under the NES, every permanent employee must have access to at least the following benefits:

Maximum hours of work

Full-time employees should work no more than an average of 38 hours every week, plus reasonable additional hours. Whether the extra hours are reasonable depends on the worker’s personal situation, familial responsibilities, employment position, penalty rates, and the amount of notice given to the employee. 

Flexible work arrangements

When an employee has worked for their employer for 12 months they can request flexible work arrangements, such as alteration to their work hours, work pattern, or location. Employers must seriously consider any valid request from an eligible employee for flexible work arrangements and only deny a request on reasonable grounds.

Casual conversion

Long-term casual employees with regular work hours must be offered the chance to convert to a full-time or permanent part-time employment after 12 months. This requirement does not apply to small businesses.

Parental leave

Most workers are entitled to unpaid parental leave if they have been with their employer for a year or more. Parental leave entitlements include maternity leave, adoption leave, paternity leave, and special maternity leave.

Annual leave

All permanent employees have access to 4 weeks of annual leave, with a pro-rata rate for part-time workers. Some employment contracts or other workplace instruments provide entitlement to more annual leave. Casual workers receive a higher hourly rate to compensate for their lost entitlement to annual leave.

Other leave

Permanent employees are entitled to 10 days of personal or carer’s leave, 2 days of compassionate leave per episode, and 10 days of family and domestic violence leave for themselves or a member of their family or household.

Community service leave

All employees, including casual workers, can take community service leave for civic activities such as jury duty and voluntary emergency management activities.

Long service leave

An employee is entitled to long service leave after a long period of service to the same employer (or in some circumstances the same industry).

Public holidays

Workers are entitled to be absent from work on public holidays. Employers can ask the employee to work that day, and the employee can either refuse or accept and receive a penalty rate of pay.

Superannuation contributions

Superannuation is an entitlement under the NES, so if it is underpaid the employee can complain to the FWC.

Notice of termination and redundancy pay

Employers must give employees notice before terminating the employment relationship, and employees are entitled to redundancy if their role is no longer operationally necessary.

Additional employee benefits

Some Australian companies offer extra employee benefits to attract staff and improve workplace culture. Some typical additional benefits include subsidised or free parking, car and fuel allowances, extra leave allowance, increased superannuation contributions, and automatic yearly increases or bonuses.

Employers who are attempting to attract staff (especially to more remote locations) frequently offer free or subsidised accommodation, and meal and travel allowances. Some employers provide benefits that relate to increasing productivity, such as onsite childcare so that an employee can work longer hours, or personal development programs that encourage further education or skill acquisition. Retailers often offer employees staff discounts on company products, and some corporations provide wellness packages with perks such as life insurance, gym membership and subsidised private health insurance.

Employee benefits can have tax implications, so employees should consult a tax professional for advice. For any legal questions about employee benefits and entitlements please contact Go To Court Lawyers. Please use this form or phone 1300 636 846 today for assistance with this or any other employment law issue.