“Conditions” refers to conditions of employment and employees’ entitlements.
The broad areas covered include the following:
- hours of work — covers full-time employment, part-time employment, casual employment, ordinary working hours, overtime, “non-standard” hours (such as weekend or evening work or working on public holidays), shift work, fixed-term/fixed-project contracts, flexible working hours, rostered days off, meal breaks, rest times, stand-by/call-back provisions, travelling time to/from jobs.
- leave — includes annual leave, personal/carer’s leave, unpaid carer’s leave, compassionate leave, community service leave, unpaid parental leave (includes maternity, paternity and adoption leave) long service leave and defence force service leave, all of which are basic entitlements that are available to all employees who qualify for them. Other forms of leave that employers commonly provide to employees include study leave, emergency/community service leave, jury service leave, cultural/ceremonial leave and leave without pay.
- public holidays — employees are entitled to gazetted public holidays. If their employer requires them to work on those days, they may be entitled to payment of penalty rates and/or other benefits (such as time off in lieu at a later date).
