18th Mar 2021, 1:04 PM – Senate Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2021 - in Committee - Transitional arrangements

The majority voted in favour of a motion that:

division 2 in item 1 of schedule 7 stand as printed.

In other words, they voted to keep that division unchanged.

What does Division 2 do?

Division 2 includes proposed clauses 45 to 48. According to the bills digest:

Proposed clause 45 of Schedule 1 to the Act, at item 1 of Schedule 7 to the Bill provides that employers, employees or employee organisations can apply for the FWC to make a determination to vary an enterprise agreement made before commencement of the reforms to resolve any uncertainty regarding the interaction of the agreement with the proposed definition of casual employee and proposed casual conversion process

*Proposed clause 46 of Schedule 1 to the Act, at item 1 of Schedule 7 provides:

• existing employees that would have met the proposed statutory definition of casual employment when engaged (or when given an offer of employment) will be considered casual employees both at the commencement of the Bill and retrospectively (this does not apply to employees who were the subject of a binding court decision or converted their status prior to commencement)

• employees that are retrospectively deemed casual employees, who could have otherwise made a claim for accrued entitlements, will not be able to do so

Proposed clause 47 of Schedule 1 to the Act, at item 1 of Schedule 7 provides a six month transitional period where employers musts assess existing casual employees against conversion eligibility criteria (this includes employees designated as ‘casual’ but who may not meet the proposed statutory definition) and offer conversion, unless reasonable not to do so

Proposed clause 48 of Schedule 1 to the Act, at item 1 of Schedule 7 requires the FWC, within a six month period after commencement, to review modern awards in force at commencement that make provision for casual employment, and vary their terms which are inconsistent with the proposed amendments.