How does the new Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation affect you?

As you step into 2023, do you have a good understanding of how the Australian Government’s new Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation that passed in December 2022 applies to you and your workplace?

The new laws include:

• giving employees the right to share (or not share) information about their pay

• banning pay secrecy terms in employment contracts and other workplace instruments 

• prohibiting job ads with pay rates lower than the legal minimum entitlements that apply to the job.

Let’s take a look at the last one on this list. From 7 January 2023, any ad that you place looking for a new employee of any kind can’t include pay rates that would breach the Fair Work Act or an instrument such as an award or enterprise agreement.

Essentially, the law now specifically provides that job ads can’t advertise a rate of pay that would undercut the minimum entitlements allowed for an employee.

If a periodic rate of pay is part of a package, then the advertisement you issue needs to specifically provide for the periodic pay rate that applies, or state in the advertisement that a periodic pay rate will apply.

Importantly, these requirements came into force as at 7 January 2023 and apply regardless of when your ad was originally posted. If an ad posted prior to this date remains in use with unlawful content from 7 January 2023 onwards, then proceedings against the employer are able to be started for any breach. The employer that has posted the ad will face fines for breaching the new laws unless they have a reasonable excuse for not complying.

Would you like to know more about the new laws that apply to job ads, and how other changes in the new Secure Jobs, Better Pay legislation may apply to you and your business? Please call James Burke or Adam Stencel on (08) 8941 6355 or email james@bowden-mccormack.com.au or adam@bowden-mccormack.com.au.