New resources launched to enhance understanding of pay, bargaining

FWC, FWO join hands to provide an overview for employers, employees on their workplace rights, responsibilities

BY Dexter Tilo 22 Oct 2024

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) and the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) have unveiled a suite of new resources aimed at enhancing understanding of bargaining, agreement-making, and employee entitlements within Australia's Fair Work system.

These resources, available through the FWC's Online Learning Portal, include animations and downloadable materials designed to provide clear and concise information for both employees and employers.

The newly introduced materials focus on three key areas:

Understanding employee pay and entitlements
- Learn where employee pay and entitlements come from
- Find out how awards, enterprise agreements, and contracts interact
- Know which of the two Fair Work agencies can help.
Understanding enterprise agreements
- Learn what an enterprise agreement is, how they are made, and when they apply
- Find a case study about a small business's experience of making an enterprise agreement.
Understanding bargaining
- Learn about the key steps in good bargaining processes
- Understand who is involved and their roles and responsibilities.

"These accessible resources provide an overview for employers and employees alike about where their workplace rights and responsibilities come from and how they can use bargaining to influence them," said Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth in a statement.

"Enterprise agreements are a critical part of Australia's workplace system and can contribute to cooperative and productive workplaces. We encourage the use and sharing of these new resources to help increase awareness about when and how they operate."

Collaboration between FWC, FWO

Murray Furlong, General Manager of the Fair Work Commission, stated that these new resources are a critical element of the Commission's response to the Bargaining Discovery Research Report it commissioned last year.

"We know from our research that people need concise and engaging information about bargaining and agreement-making that is easy to access and share across organisations," he said in a statement.

"The resources cover foundational information about pay and conditions across the Fair Work system, the role of the two Fair Work agencies, and the full life cycle of the agreement process, from bargaining to approval processes, all the way to implementation and ensuring compliance."

Furlong emphasised the collaborative nature of the project, highlighting that the materials were developed in close partnership with the FWO.

"Our close collaboration with the Fair Work Ombudsman has allowed us to better meet the needs of our shared users," he said. "I look forward to working closely with our colleagues at the Fair Work Ombudsman to co-develop more resources in the future."