General protections benchbook
An overview of legal procedure & case law
Political opinion
Political opinion includes membership of a political party; expressed political, socio-political, or moral attitudes; or civic commitment.
Workers are protected against adverse action in employment based on activities expressing their political views, but this protection does not extend to politically motivated acts of violence.[1]
Reference
[1] ‘Q&As on business, discrimination and equality’ International Labour Organization, 01 February 2012.
Updated time
Last updated
15 June 2018
Bookmark/Search this post
Page feedback
Mini sites
- Annual Report 2013–14
- Reader's guide
- 1. Overview
- 2. About the Commission
- 3. Performance reporting
- Overview
- Legislative amendments
- Workload
- Timeliness benchmarks
- Resolving disputes
- Determining unfair dismissal applications
- Setting the minimum wage
- Orders relating to industrial action
- Processes relating to modern awards
- Approving agreements
- Regulating registered organisations
- Determining anti-bullying applications
- Key performance indicators
- 4. Management and accountability
- 5. Appendices
- A | Member activities
- B | List of Members
- C | Panel assignments
- D | Methodology for Chart 2–Matters dealt with by the Commission and its predecessors 1998–99 to 2013–14
- E | Promoting fairness and improving access
- F | Efficiency and innovation
- G | Increasing accountability
- H | Productivity and engaging with industry
- I | Documents relating to the work of the Commission
- J | Fair Work Commission addresses
- K | Lodgment and case load statistics
- L | Methodology for Chart 6–Number of Commission sittings, various
- M | Subscription services
- N | Information on specific statutory requirements
- O | Fraud Control Certificate
- P | Fair Work Commission Service Charter
- Q | Financial statements
- Independent Audit Report
- Statement by the General Manager and Chief Financial Officer
- Statement of Comprehensive Income
- Statement of Financial Position
- Statement of Changes in Equity
- Cash Flow Statement
- Schedule of Commitments
- Schedule of Administered Items
- Notes to the financial statements
- Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
- Note 2: Events after the Reporting Period
- Note 3: Expenses
- Note 4: Income
- Note 5: Fair Value Measurements
- Note 6: Financial Assets
- Note 7: Non-financial Assets
- Note 8: Payables
- Note 9: Provisions
- Note 10: Cash Flow Reconciliation
- Note 11: Contingent Liabilities and Assets
- Note 12: Senior Executive Remuneration
- Note 13: Remuneration of Auditors
- Note 14: Financial Instruments
- Note 15: Financial Assets Reconciliation
- Note 16: Administered Income
- Note 17: Administered Payables
- Note 18: Administered Cash Flow Reconciliation
- Note 19: Administered Contingent Liabilities and Assets
- Note 20: Appropriations
- Note 21: Compliance with Statutory Conditions for Payments from the Consolidated Revenue Fund
- Note 22: Compensation and Debt Relief
- Note 23: Reporting of Outcomes
- Note 24: Net Cash Appropriation Arrangements
- R | Agency resource statement
- S | Expenses and resources for outcome
- T | Glossary
- U | Acronyms and abbreviations
- V | List of requirements
- Letter of transmittal
- Inquiries and copyright
- Videos
- Downloads
- Annual Report 2014–15
- Introduction
- Preliminary information
- Part 1 Overview
- Part 2 About the Commission
- Part 3 Performance reporting
- Overview
- Legislative amendments
- Workload
- Timeliness benchmarks
- Resolving disputes
- Unlawful termination disputes
- Determining unfair dismissal applications
- Setting the minimum wage
- Orders relating to industrial action
- Processes relating to modern awards
- Enterprise agreements
- Determining anti-bullying applications
- Regulating registered organisations
- Key performance indicators
- Part 4 Management and accountability
- Corporate governance
- Planning and development
- Workplace health and safety
- Business continuity
- Ethical standards
- Fair Work Commission values
- Freedom of information
- Accountability
- The Commission's workforce
- Employee pay and entitlements
- Service Charter, complaints and code of conduct
- Financial management
- Agency resource statement
- Expenses and resources for outcome
- Acronyms and abbreviations
- Part 5 Appendices
- Annual Report 2015–16
- Preliminary information
- Part 1: Overview
- Part 2: About the Commission
- Part 3: Performance
- Performance summary
- Annual performance statements 2015–16
- Operational performance
- Significant decisions
- Case studies
- Part 4: Management & accountability
- Appendices
- Appendix A: List of Members
- Appendix B: Panel assignments
- Appendix C: Member activities
- Appendix D: Lodgment & case load statistics
- Appendix E: Registered organisations data
- Appendix F: Performance reporting for the RSRT
- Appendix G: Financial statements
- Appendix H: Subscription services
- Appendix I: Service charter
- Appendix J: List of requirements
- Appendix K: Expense & resources outcome, agency resource statement & financial performance analysis
- Glossary
- Acronyms & abbreviations
- Contact us
- Annual Wage Review 2013–14
- Anti-bullying benchbook
- Glossary & naming conventions
- Overview of benchbook
- What is workplace bullying?
- Who is covered by workplace bullying laws?
- When is a worker bullied at work?
- Making an application
- Responding to an application
- If the worker has been dismissed
- Commission processes
- Evidence
- Outcomes
- Associated applications
- Corporate Plan 2018–19
- Corporate Plan 2019–20
- Corporate Plan 2020-21
- Enterprise agreements benchbook
- Glossary & naming conventions
- Overview of benchbook
- What is an enterprise agreement?
- Content of an enterprise agreement
- Agreement making process
- Bargaining
- Voting
- Making an application
- Commission approval process
- Associated applications
- General Manager reporting requirements
- General protections benchbook
- Glossary & naming conventions
- Overview of benchbook
- What are the general protections?
- How do the general protections work?
- Coverage for general protections
- What if I am not covered?
- What is adverse action?
- Workplace rights protections
- Industrial activities protections
- Other protections
- Sham arrangements
- Making an application
- Power to dismiss applications
- Evidence
- Commission process
- Outcomes
- Costs
- Appeals
- Role of the Court
- Industrial action benchbook
- JobKeeper benchbook
- Glossary
- Introduction
- JobKeeper enabling directions – general
- Jobkeeper enabling stand down directions – entitled employers
- Jobkeeper enabling directions – legacy employers
- Agreements about days or times of work
- Employer payment obligations
- Agreements about annual leave
- Protections
- Disputes we cannot assist with
- Applications to deal with a dispute
- Commission process
- Evidence
- Outcomes
- Attachments
- Modern Awards Review 2012
- Sir Richard Kirby Archives
- Home
- Sir Richard Kirby
- About the Archives
- Cases
- Centenary
- Exhibitions
- Exhibition launch: The history of the Australian minimum wage
- Guide – Opening Exhibition
- International Industrial Dispute Resolution Conference
- Speaker – Justice Alan Boulton AO
- Speaker – Mr Arthur F Rosenfeld
- Speaker – Mr Craig Smith
- Speaker – Mr James Wilson
- Speaker – Mr Kieran Mulvey
- Speaker – Mr Peter Anderson
- Speaker – Ms Ginette Brazeau
- Speaker – Ms Nerine Kahn
- Speaker – Ms Rita Donaghy CBE
- Speaker – Ms Sharan Burrow
- Speaker – Senator Guy Barnett
- Speaker – The Hon. Julia Gillard
- The Journey
- The history of the Australian minimum wage
- The Great Strikes
- The first minimum wage: The Victorian minimum wage
- The Harvester Decision
- The impact of the Great Depression
- Working it out: Cost of living versus capacity to pay
- The removal of award rate discrimination
- The wage explosion & economic crisis
- The modern era: The development of a modern minimum wage
- Treasures of the archives
- The modern era
- Past Presidents
- Past Members
- Unfair dismissals benchbook
- Overview of unfair dismissal
- Glossary & naming conventions
- Coverage for unfair dismissal
- What is dismissal?
- When does a dismissal take effect?
- Terminated at the employer's initiative
- Forced resignation
- Demotion
- Contract for a specified period of time
- Contract for a specified task
- Contract for a specified season
- Training arrangement
- What is a transfer of employment?
- Periods of service as a casual employee
- What is a genuine redundancy?
- What is the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code?
- What makes a dismissal unfair?
- Making an application
- Objecting to an application
- Commission process
- Remedies
- Dismissing an application
- Evidence
- Costs
- Appeals
- Role of the Court
- Waltzing Matilda and the Sunshine Harvester Factory
- Introduction
- The book
- The film
- Historical material
- 38 Hour Week Wage Principle [1983]
- 40 Hour Week Case [1947]
- 44 Hour Week Case [1927]
- Apprenticeship indentures
- Australian Minimum Wage and fitter (trades) rate since 1906
- Boot Trades Case
- Careers in Bootmaking and Boot Repairing
- Cattle Industry Case 1966
- Commercial Printing Case [1936]
- Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1904
- Cost of living newspaper articles from the early 1900s
- Debates
- Equal Pay Case 1969
- Equal Pay Case 1972
- Fruit Pickers Case
- Gas Employees Case
- Graph of Australian Minimum Wage since 1906
- Harvester Case
- Historic case judgments on the Fair Work Commission's website
- Kingston's evidence
- Linesmen's Case
- Maternity Leave Case [1979]
- Metal trades base level minimum wages [1967–2015]
- Methods of wage adjustment
- Establishing an Australian Minimum Wage 1907?1922
- Quarterly indexation 1922–1953
- The Great Depression 1931
- Prosperity loadings 1937
- World War II 1939–1945
- The post-war period: 1953–1965 basic wage inquiries
- The total wage 1966–1967
- Removal of discrimination in award rates
- Reintroduction of quarterly wage indexation 1975–1978
- Six monthly wage indexation 1978–1981
- Wage explosion 1981–1982
- Reforming awards and work and management practices 1987–1991
- Six monthly wage indexation 1983–1987
- Enterprise bargaining and a minimum wage safety net 1991–1996
- Statutory adjustments
- The minimum wage in real terms
- Mrs Beeton's cookbook
- Paternity Leave Case [1990]
- Personal/Carer's Leave Test Case [1995]
- Piddington report
- Re Bagshaw [1907]
- Significant cases on the Fair Work Commission's website
- Statistics for the purpose of comparison with the Australian minimum wage
- The Amalgamated Society of Engineers v. The Adelaide Steam-ship Company Limited and Others
- The Australian minimum wage from 1906
- The Federated Marine Stewards and Pantrymen's Association v. The Commonwealth Steamship Owners' Association and Others
- The Victorian minimum wage 1896
- The first Award: 1906 Steam-ship Crew
- 100 years of the minimum wage—Statistical comparison
- Mrs Beeton's cookbook
- Glossary
- Related sites
- Educational materials
- AWRS First Findings report