Got questions about your rights at work?
GET PAID CORRECTLY
As an employee you have the right to be paid for the work you do. Check our fact sheets to make sure your wages and superannuation are being paid correctly and learn more about why pay inequality exists in Australia.
Minimum wage
The minimum wage is the lowest amount (or the base hourly rate) you can be paid for the work you do.
Union members earn 26% more
You may often read or hear that union members earn more than non-members. This is often called the union wage premium. But how and why do union members earn more? We break it down. Read more →
Payslips and record keeping
Payslips and accurate record keeping are essential to protecting yourself from wage theft. Read more →
Penalty rates and allowances
Penalty rates and allowances are extra payments made on top of your regular wage. Read more →
Underpayment
Underpayment means being paid less than what you are entitled to. If it is deliberate, then it is wage theft. Read more →
Deductions and overpayment
Money that is taken out of your pay by your employer before you receive it is known as a deduction. Read more →
Unpaid work
In most cases, it is illegal to ask employees to do unpaid work. But there are some circumstances where unpaid work is allowed under the law. Read more →
Pay secrecy
New laws have eliminated the use of pay secrecy clauses in workplaces which prevented workers from talking about their pay. Read more →
Gender pay gap
What’s the difference between equal pay and the gender pay gap? How do you find out if you’re being paid less than your male counterparts? We answer these questions and more. Read more →
DEAL WITH PROBLEMS AT WORK
Do you have a problem at work and aren’t sure what to do next? Start by checking out these fact sheets.
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment that involves any unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature. Like all forms of bullying and harassment, sexual harassment is a known cause of physical and mental injury. It is a serious health and safety issue and can even result in criminal charges for perpetrators. Read more →
Workplace bullying and harassment
Bullying and harassment harms the physical and mental health of workers. It is a serious health and safety issue that must be managed and prevented by employers. Everyone should feel safe and supported at work. Read more →
Workplace discrimination
Workplace discrimination occurs when a person, or a group of people, is treated less favourably than another person or group because of their background or particular personal characteristics. Read more →
Know My Rights: changes to workplace discrimination
From 7th December 2022 all working Australians, across every industry, are more protected against discrimination from their employers. Read more →
Unfair dismissal, discrimination and redundancy
All workers deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. There are special laws that prevent discrimination on the basis of your gender, race, cultural or religious background. And, under Fair Work laws, all workers who have served a qualifying period are legally protected from being sacked unfairly. Read more →
Forced resignation
If your employer acts in a way that leaves you with no real choice but to resign this is known as a forced resignation. Read more →
Serious misconduct
Serious misconduct refers to a significant violation of your terms of employment. Read more →
Disciplinary meetings
A disciplinary meeting is when your employer requests a meeting to discuss allegations about your performance. Read more →
GO ON LEAVE
Leave is time away from work that can be taken for a number of reasons, such as caring for sick family members or going on a holiday. Australian workers have fought for and won a range of important leave and holiday entitlements that are among the best in the world.
Annual leave
Annual leave, also known as holiday pay, allows you to be paid while you take time off work. Annual leave became standard in 1970 after a hard-fought union campaign. Read more →
Leave loading
Leave loading is an extra payment given on top of annual leave pay. Also known as holiday loading or annual leave loading. Read more →
Public holidays
Public holidays are government set days of the year where employees can be absent from work for the day, or part of the day. You must still be paid your base rate of pay for this day, unless you are a casual employee. Read more →
Sick or personal leave
Sick, personal, carer’s leave and compassionate leave allow you to take time off work when you need to – without losing income. Like most of your rights at work, these types of leave became law after the union movement campaigned for them and won. Read more →
Family and domestic violence leave
This fact sheet outlines the rules for taking 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence leave. Read more →
Maternity or parental leave
Maternity leave is formally known as parental leave. It gives you the right to take time off work if you are having or adopting a child. Read more →
Paternity leave and partner leave
As a partner to a new parent, you may be able to access minimum entitlements to unpaid leave from your employer as well as payments funded by the government. Read more →
Paid parental leave eligibility
The Federal Government provides new parents in Australia with the Paid Parental Leave Scheme. This offers up to 18 weeks of paid leave for workers that are giving birth to or adopting a child. Read more →
Keeping in touch days
Keeping in touch days exist to help employees caring for a new baby or adopted child stay updated with the workplace and their colleagues, refresh their skills and take the pressure off transitioning back to work. Read more →
Long service leave
Employees are entitled to long service leave after an extended period of service with an employer. In some states and territories, you may also be entitled to long service leave even if you change employers or are a casual worker. Read more →
Leave entitlements during natural disasters
There is presently no specific universal form of leave to allow employees to be absent from work due to the impact of a natural disaster. If you are affected by a natural disaster, you can apply for annual leave, long service leave or other leave that is available to you. Read more →
Natural disasters and stand downs
Stand downs during a natural disaster In some circumstances, such as during a natural disaster, an employer may have the right to stand down an employee for a period during which the employee cannot be usefully employed. Read more here →
LEARN YOUR MINIMUM RIGHTS
Almost all employees who work in Australia must be paid the minimum wage or higher. Most employees are also covered by the 11 minimum rights outlined in the National Employment Standards.
Minimum wage
The minimum wage is the lowest amount (or the base hourly rate) you can be paid for the work you do. For the majority of workers, the minimum wage is set by the Award that covers your industry or occupation. But there are also a variety of factors that can determine what you earn, such as your employment type, age or work capacity.
National Employment Standards
The National Employment Standards (NES) are the minimum standards that apply to nearly all employees in Australia. Read more →
Maternity or parental leave
Maternity leave is formally known as parental leave. It gives you the right to take time off work if you are having or adopting a child. Read more →
Annual leave
Annual leave, also known as holiday pay, allows you to be paid while you take time off work. Read more →
Sick or personal leave
Sick, personal, carer’s leave and compassionate leave allow you to take time off work when you need to – without losing income. Like most of your rights at work, these types of leave became law after the union movement campaigned for them and won. Read more →
Family and domestic violence leave
This fact sheet outlines the rules for taking 10 days paid Family and Domestic Violence leave. Read more →
Community service leave
Voluntary firefighters and other emergency services volunteers can generally access Community Service Leave to do emergency management activities. Read more →
Long service leave
Employees are entitled to long service leave after an extended period of service with an employer. In some states and territories, you may also be entitled to long service leave even if you change employers or are a casual worker. Read more →
Public holidays
You have the right to take a paid day off on public holidays (unpaid for casuals) – unless there is a reasonable expectation that you work. Read more →
Redundancy pay and redundancy notice periods
Redundancy refers to a specific role — not the person who performs it. Your employer cannot make someone redundant and then hire someone else to continue doing the same job. Read more →
Roster rights
Are you working extra hours with no extra pay? Have your hours suddenly been slashed? This fact sheet answers those questions and more about your roster rights. Read more →
CHECK WHAT TYPE OF WORKER YOU ARE
Knowing what type of worker you are is essential to understand what your work rights are. How you are employed affects what your entitlements are at work, what responsibilities you have and even how much you can expect to be paid.
Types of employment
How you are employed affects what your entitlements are at work, what responsibilities you have and even how much you can expect to be paid. This fact sheet provides a brief overview of the most common types of employment. Read more →
What are your employment rights as a casual?
Casual workers are not entitled to most forms of paid leave or notice of termination pay. However, they are entitled to a safe workplace, freedom from discrimination and unpaid parental leave. In some circumstances, casual workers are also entitled to long service leave, protection from unfair dismissal and the right to request conversion to permanent work. Read more here →
Labour hire
Labour hire is a form of employment in which an employer (“host”) hires a worker from a labour hire agency (“provider”) for a short period of time. Read more →
Seasonal farm workers
Most of this fact sheet is about seasonal work on and around farms in Australia i.e. horticulture. Read more →
PALM workers
Workers on the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme come from nine specific countries to work in Australia on a seasonal or long-term basis. Read more →
ENDING A JOB
Employment can end for a number of reasons. You might resign from your job voluntarily, finish your contract, be made redundant or even be dismissed for misconduct. Whatever the reason, you’ll need to deal with things like notice periods and final pay.
Giving notice and resigning
If you want to resign from your job, you need to let your employer know and continue working until the required notice period is completed. You do not need to give a reason for resigning. Read more →
Final pay
Most of the time, your employer should give you your final pay within seven days of your last day of work. But this can change depending on the award, agreement or contract that covers your workplace. Read more →
Redundancy pay and redundancy notice periods
Redundancy refers to a specific role — not the person who performs it. Your employer cannot make someone redundant and then hire someone else to continue doing the same job. Read more →
Unfair dismissal, discrimination and redundancy
All workers deserve to be treated fairly and with respect. There are special laws that prevent discrimination on the basis of your gender, race, cultural or religious background. And, under Fair Work laws, all workers who have served a qualifying period are legally protected from being sacked unfairly. Read more →
Forced resignation
If your employer acts in a way that leaves you with no real choice but to resign this is known as a forced resignation. Read more →
Serious misconduct
Serious misconduct refers to a significant violation of your terms of employment. Read more →
STAY SAFE & HEALTHY AT WORK
All workers have the right to a safe and health workplace, no matter where you work or the kind of job you have. Casuals, labour hire workers, contractors and even volunteers have the same rights as all other workers.
Health and Safety Representatives
Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) are elected by their co-workers to represent them in health and safety matters. By electing a HSR, workers get more of a say on health and safety issues and receive extra protection under the law. Read more →
Workplace bullying and harassment
Bullying and harassment harms the physical and mental health of workers. It is a serious health and safety issue that must be managed and prevented by employers. Everyone should feel safe and supported at work. Read more →
Working in heat
Working in excessively hot weather can be extremely dangerous, and even fatal. Read more →
Injury reporting
‘Injury’ can mean a physical or mental injury, disease or illness. All workplaces should have a clear system of reporting injuries or other health and safety issues. Read more →
Workplace discrimination
Workplace discrimination occurs when a person, or a group of people, is treated less favourably than another person or group because of their background or particular personal characteristics. Read more →
Compensation
Anybody injured at work has a right to worker’s compensation, including paid leave and compensation for medical costs. This applies to both physical and mental injuries and can occur at the workplace or offsite. Read more →
Menopause in the workplace
How union members are changing workplaces to help workers experiencing menopause. Read more →
Perimenopause and menopause symptoms
Menopause affects around half of Australia’s population at some point in their lives and those undergoing menopause will likely do so while they go about their regular working lives. Read more →
Mosquito-borne diseases
While mosquitos are a problem every summer, the recent arrival of the Japanese encephalitis virus in eastern Australia heightens concerns. Read more →
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment that involves any unwelcome behaviour of a sexual nature. Like all forms of bullying and harassment, sexual harassment is a known cause of physical and mental injury. It is a serious health and safety issue and can even result in criminal charges for perpetrators. Read more →
Risk management
Risk management is the process of identifying hazards, assessing the risk of harm from those hazards, and introducing controls needed to eliminate or reduce the risk. Read more →
Natural disasters and workplace safety
Employers have an obligation to protect workers health and safety, and this includes monitoring risks such as bushfire smoke, heat, floods, heavy rain that have the potential to affect workers’ health. Read more →
Working From Home Charter
The Working From Home Charter will make your experience of working from home better, safer and a more positive experience. Read more →
KEEP YOUR WORK COVID SAFE
COVID-19 is a health and safety risk. Employers must have a plan on what will be done to protect and support workers, and health and safety representatives (HSRs) must be consulted on this plan.
COVID Aware FAQs
These FAQs are your starting point for making your workplace COVID aware. They provide information about your rights, the actions you can take and how to conduct a COVID-19 risk assessment. Read more →
Consulting workers
Workers and HSRs must be consulted regarding how public health orders will be implemented at work, what risk control measures are necessary to control the risk of the virus spreading including any decisions being made around vaccinations. Read more →
Vaccination
A high rate of COVID-19 vaccination is the only pathway to ending this pandemic and rebuilding a fairer economy and more equitable and safe society. Read more →
COVID-19 risks in your workplace
There are a number of essential precautions employers must take. Read more →
Ventilation
COVID spreads through the air from infected people, so it is essential that every effort is made to remove and reduce any contamination of the air we breathe. Read more →
Testing for COVID
Testing for virus SARS-CoV-2 that causes illness COVID-19 is done in a few ways, of which two are useful for workers/workplaces. Read more →
Workplace cleanliness and hygiene
The best risk control measure for preventing exposure to COVID-19 is physical distancing and fresh clean air, together with other measures, such as cleaning and improved hygiene. Read more →
Safety gear
Many jobs require the use of safety gear/personal protective equipment. To prevent the spread of COVID 19 increased cleaning and attention to proper fit, storage in cleaned environments is even more important. Read more →
Privacy at work
Health information about a worker can be particularly sensitive and must be handled appropriately by employers. Read more →
Transport to and from work
As more people return to work, it will become increasingly difficult to practice physical distancing when travelling to and from work. Read more →
Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment
The Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment ended on 14 October 2022. Some workers may be eligible for High-Risk Settings Pandemic Payment. Read more →
HOW TO MAKE CHANGE AT YOUR WORKPLACE
Learn about how being a union member can help change your workplace for the better.
Health and Safety Representatives
Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) are elected by their co-workers to represent them in health and safety matters. By electing a HSR, workers get more of a say on health and safety issues and receive extra protection under the law. Read more →
First Nations Workers Alliance
The First Nations Workers Alliance is a culturally safe place for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers wanting to learn about unions and who want to join their union. Read more →
Mind Your Head
Work-related mental health problems can be a little tricker to identify compared to physical health concerns. Mind Your Head provides you with resources to make your workplace better for the mental health of you and your workmates’. Read more →
Safe and inclusive workplaces
Union workplaces are safer workplaces. Many of the rights we take for granted were fought for and won by union members, such as workers’ compensation and bans on asbestos. Unfortunately, many physical and mental health risks are still being tolerated or ignored by employers. Read more →
WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR RIGHTS
Where do the rules for your workplace come from? First, you should check what type of worker you are. Second, read the following fact sheets about where you can find the rights and entitlements specific to your workplace.
National Employment Standards
The National Employment Standards (NES) are 11 minimum standards that apply to nearly all employees in Australia. Read more →
Modern Awards
Modern awards are documents which set minimum employment standards in a specific industry or sector. Read more →
Enterprise Agreements
Enterprise agreements are deals made between employers and employees and their union about the terms and conditions of their employment. Read more →
Employment Contracts
Employment contracts can never provide conditions that are worse than those in National Employment Standards or the award or agreement that covers your workplace. Read more →
Fair Work Ombudsman
The Fair Work Ombudsman is an independent agency of the Federal Government. It provides employers and employees with information about their obligations and rights in the workplace. Read more →
Fair Work Commission
The Fair Work Commission is the organisation responsible for administering and enforcing the Fair Work Act. It is also Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal. Read more →
GUIDES & EXPLAINERS
How do you get a pay rise? What do you do in your first job? How do you know if you’re on a sham contract? Check out our handy guides and explainers to take control of your working life.
The Ultimate Guide to Getting A Pay Rise
The step-by-step guide on the best way to achieve a pay rise at work. Read more →
How to check for stolen wages
Wage theft harms two thirds of workers. Here is how to check if that’s you. Read more →
How to sort out your superannuation
Retirement may seem a long way down the track but the money you need to have for a decent retirement cannot be accumulated overnight. It pays – literally – to get on top of your super sooner rather than later. Read more →
How to prepare for your first job
Your first job can be daunting, maybe a little unnerving. But hey, we’ve all been there. Follow this short guide to start out strong from day one. Read more →
How to prepare for your first apprenticeship
Scored an apprenticeship? Big congrats. Here are four steps to getting it right the first time and not being ripped off in the process. Read more →
How to spot a sham contract
Are you a casual or a contractor? Do you work in the gig economy? Has your boss told you to get an ABN but you’re not sure why? While of course there are bosses that play within the rules, there are some dodgy employers out there who may have you on a sham contract. Read more →
What you need to know about ‘constructive dismissal’
You willingly quit your job. But get this – you didn’t really have any other choice. Because you were intentionally driven out. Has this happened or about to happen to you? Read more →