We have developed this guide to provide you with practical advice on how to support the provision of fair pay and conditions for job seekers that you assist into employment.
Service obligations
Australian Government employment service providers have an obligation to make sure that job seekers receive fair pay and conditions when they are assisted into employment. This obligation is detailed in the national Disability Service Standards applicable to those services funded under the Disability Services Act 1986.
The Australian Government Employment Services Code of Practice recognises the priority is to help clients to achieve the best outcomes.
When it comes to optimal employment outcomes this priority should include ensuring that job seekers:
- are aware of their rights and obligations
- have accurate up to date information about services that can help them achieve such outcomes.
Standard 9 of the Disability Service Standards states that 'each person with a disability enjoys working conditions comparable to those of the general workforce'. This standard consists of three key performance indicators against which service performance in job placement activities are measured:
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key performance indicator 1 requires that services place job seekers with disability in jobs paying wages according to a 'relevant award, order or industrial agreement consistent with legislation' including pro-rata wage arrangements under the Supported Wage System for people unable to work at full productivity
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key performance indicator 2 requires that services place job seekers with disability in jobs 'where their employment conditions are consistent with general workplace norms and relevant Australian Government and state legislation'
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key performance indicator 3 requires services to provide adequate information to their employed workers with disability (and 'if appropriate their guardians and advocates') about 'how wages and conditions are determined and the consequences of this'.
The following links contains more information on your obligations as a service provider:
Practical advice and assistance
These service obligations translate into a duty to educate and resource job seekers with the knowledge and confidence to:
- negotiate fair pay and conditions for themselves with employers
- exercise their rights if they do not receive fair treatment in the workplace.
If you are assisting job seekers with intellectual or cognitive disability you may need to take a more proactive approach with employers when negotiating and supporting jobs.
While employers have legal obligations to treat their employees fairly, employees also have a range of obligations with regards to work including:
- punctuality
- safe work practices
- performance of duties
- hours of work
- taking leave
- general workplace behaviour.
The following is a range of suggestions on how you can help job seekers so that they receive fair pay and employment conditions:
1. Provide information
You can supply information to job seekers on fair pay, conditions and fair treatment in a number if ways. For example, you could:
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print off particular information for individual job seekers from various relevant web sites
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set up a resource section or library at your service with hard copy information available to all job seekers in a range of accessible formats
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provide individualised or group training for job seekers on how to find this information for themselves either through web sites or phone contacts.
Services operating under the Disability Services Act are also obliged to check that a person receives appropriate wages under a relevant industrial instrument. This should be carefully explained to workers so that you can justify requests for pay slips or details of contracts when verifying information and can manage these requests with sensitivity.
Fair Work Infoline
For further information on pay and conditions under Australia's national workplace relations system visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website (see related links) or contact the Fair Work Infoline on
13 13 94.
Other sources of information
Each state and territory has an occupational health and safety authority with information on rights and responsibilities with regard to work safety, workers compensation and injury related return to work. The following page provides contact details for your state and territory occupational health and safety authority:
The Australian Human Rights Commission has information about federal anti-discrimination laws (concerning disability, race and sex discrimination and sexual harassment) with links to the various State Commissions and information about state anti-discrimination and equal employment legislation.
The following link provides more information on the Australian Human Rights Commission. Please note that this link will open an external web site in a new page:
Information on superannuation and payroll tax is available from the Australian Taxation Office web site. Please note that the following link will open an external web site in a new page:
2. Educating job seekers on their rights and responsibilities
You could also provide or source suitable training for frontline employment consultants on industrial relations in order to help them keep job seekers informed about their employment entitlements.
As well as providing individual education to job seekers as part of standard case management practice, consider running short in-house worker rights and responsibilities courses for job seekers. These would need to cater to all disability groups with accessible information, alternative formats and flexibility in teaching methods. It may be preferable to run separate courses for those with cognitive or learning disability. Courses could also be sourced externally where available.
3. Self advocacy and external assistance
You should aim to encourage job seekers to develop the knowledge, skills and self confidence to advocate for themselves if they believe their employment rights are being infringed. Job seekers should become familiar with the grievance procedures available within their workplaces and with the external agencies they may access for help.
Some job seekers may request your help to settle a workplace grievance on a informal basis. Others may prefer help to link them to an external agency like the Fair Work Ombudsman, a union or an employment focused community legal service.
If a worker chooses to explore their options with an external agency, you may still wish to know what is happening to ensure that appropriate action is being taken.
Fair Work Ombudsman
The Fair Work Ombudsman is an independent agency that you can call for advice or assistance about any compliance or enforcement issues under the national workplace relations legislation. It has Fair Work inspectors with the power to investigate any act or practice that may be contrary to relevant Commonwealth workplace laws.
This is also where you would go or refer your job seeker in the event of:
- an illegal unpaid work trial or underpayment (including any unpaid entitlements after termination of employment)
- coercion to join (or not join) a union
- duress in agreement making processes
- an employer's refusal to provide pay slips that show all the required details or to honour required meal break, public holiday or leave entitlements.
The following link provides more information on the role of the Fair Work Ombudsman. Please note that this link will open an external web site in a new page:
Unions
Unions are membership based organisations that can also help with workplace grievances. It is a job seeker's right under freedom of association laws to join, or not to join, a union.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions Worker Information line (1300 362 223) will refer any job seeker to a relevant union should they wish to join. The Australian Council of Trade Unions web site also provides information about unions and union membership. Please note that this link will open an external web site in a new page:
Community legal centres
For job seekers who do not wish to join a union, there are community legal centres in each state and territory that may be able to help in the event of a workplace grievance.
Victoria and Western Australia have specialist legal services that deal only with employment issues; most other states have agencies that deal specifically with disability discrimination law or focus on welfare rights and social security law or legal issues (including employment and training) across all or some disability groups.
Links to these legal centres can be found on the web site of the National Association of Community Legal Centres. Please note that the following link will open an external web site in a new page:
Other contacts
If a job seeker has health and safety concerns that have not been satisfactorily dealt with internally, then each state or territory’s occupational health and safety authority will have inspectors who can be contacted to intervene.
Similarly any unresolved complaints regarding workplace discrimination or harassment, whether based on disability, race or gender, can be pursued by calling the Australian Human Rights Commission or your local state based Equal Employment Opportunity or Human Rights Commission.
4. Job descriptions
The creation of job descriptions that clearly outline pay and other conditions is a useful practice that can support job seekers. Job descriptions can outline pay and other conditions (such as leave entitlements) and can include contact details for people in the workplace who can deal with all or specific workplace grievances.
This approach is particularly useful when ‘reverse marketing’, that is, where positions are negotiated and created with employers. In such circumstances, these ‘created’ job vacancies could be transformed into job descriptions by you as the employment service provider once the vacancies are filled. These job descriptions could then be provided to the employer and job seeker to ensure that everyone is clear on what the job involves, including fair pay and conditions.
5. Job development and marketing code of practice
Australian Government employment service providers are responsible for helping job seekers gain legitimate employment. Each service should insist on job development or marketing standards that favour working with employers known to operate within a legal employment pay and conditions environment. Providers should refuse to work with employers that fail to operate under state and federal workplace laws.
Work experience
When organising work experience activities, you should ensure that job seekers participate in legal work experience arrangements such as the Work Experience activities provided through the Job Services Australia program or through arrangements associated with educational bodies such as schools, TAFE or registered training organisations.
Ad hoc employer arranged ‘work experience’ arrangements are considered to be a breach of Standard 9 of the Disability Service Standards, and the Employment Services Code of Practice and Service Guarantee.