10th Nov 2020, 1:56 PM – Senate Economic Recovery Package (Jobmaker Hiring Credit) Amendment Bill 2020 - in Committee - Dispute resolution

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens), which means it failed. Senator Faruqi explained that:

This amendment is about the Fair Work Commission and dispute resolution ... It is about making sure that workers have adequate protections, because as the bill currently stands there is no dispute resolution process for resolving issues that might come up. Workers who have been fired or who have had their hours reduced or undercut will have no avenue. This amendment will make sure that the Fair Work Commission has the power to deal with disputes relating to this particular scheme that the government is creating at the moment. With this amendment, workers, employers, unions and employer groups can lodge a dispute.

Amendment text

(1) Schedule 1, page 3 (before line 27), before item 5, insert:

4D Before section 8

Insert:

7D Requirements for rules that provide for jobmaker hiring credit scheme—Fair Work Commission powers to deal with disputes

(1) This section applies if rules are made for the purposes of subsection 7(1A) that provide for a kind of payment known as the jobmaker hiring credit.

(2) The rules must provide for the Fair Work Commission to be able to deal with disputes that arise in relation to or in connection with the scheme for the payment, including (without limitation):

(a) disputes about the termination of the employment of an employee of an entity; or

(b) disputes about a reduction in the ordinary hours of work of an employee of an entity; or

(c) disputes about other conduct of an entity that adversely affects employees; or where the termination, reduction or other conduct is for the purposes of, or connected with, an entity seeking to become entitled to payments under the scheme, or to increase the amount of payments to which the entity is entitled under the scheme.

(3) The rules must provide for the Fair Work Commission to deal with such disputes on application by any of the following:

(a) an employee;

(b) an employer;

(c) an employee organisation;

(d) an employer organisation.

(4) The rules must provide for the Fair Work Commission to be able to make orders in relation to such disputes, including (without limitation) any of the following:

(a) an order for reinstatement of an employee;

(b) an order to reverse a reduction in an employee's ordinary hours or work;

(c) any other order that the Fair Work Commission considers appropriate.

Additional function of the Fair Work Commission

(5) The functions of the Fair Work Commission include dealing with disputes as referred to in this section.

Note: Other functions of the Fair Work Commission are set out in section 576 of the Fair Work Act 2009.

(6) For the purposes of section 595 of the Fair Work Act 2009 :

(a) this section and rules made for the purposes of this section are taken to be a provision of that Act; and

(b) the rules must provide that the Fair Work Commission may deal with a dispute by arbitration.

Note 1: Under section 595 of the Fair Work Act 2009, the Fair Work Commission may deal with a dispute only if expressly authorised to do so under or in accordance with another provision of the Act.

Note 2: In addition to arbitration, the Fair Work Commission may also deal with a dispute by mediation or conciliation, or by making a recommendation or expressing an opinion (see subsection 595(2) of the Fair Work Act 2009).