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adjournment

To end proceedings or to suspend them to another time or place.

appeal

To request that a decision of a single member of the Commission be reviewed by a Full Bench to determine if the decision made is consistent with the Fair Work Act 2009. An appeal can only be made on the grounds that an error of law or fact has been made. A person must seek the permission of the Commission to lodge an appeal by lodging a Form F7—Notice of Appeal.

bullying at work

Bullying at work, as defined by the Fair Work Act 2009, occurs when:

  • a person or a group of people behaves unreasonably and repeatedly towards a worker or a group of workers while at work, and
  • the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety.

Bullying does not include reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner.

bullying policy

A formal procedure outlining the processes used, including disciplinary measures, to resolve bullying in the workplace. A policy would normally include definitions of bullying, a worker's responsibility in relation to bullying and the step by step process that should be adopted when bullying is reported.

code of conduct

A set of rules and responsibilities that govern an organisation. A code of conduct generally sets out appropriate and inappropriate behaviour of employees within an organisation.

Commission

Abbreviation for Fair Work Commission.

Commonwealth

Refers to the Commonwealth government or an Australian territory.

conference

A private proceeding conducted by a Fair Work Commission Member.

constitutionally covered business

A constitutionally covered business is:

  • a proprietary limited company
  • a foreign corporation
  • a trading or financial corporation formed within the limits of the Commonwealth
  • the Commonwealth
  • the Commonwealth authority
  • a body corporate incorporated in a territory
  • a business or organisation conducted principally in a territory or Commonwealth place.

It does not include sole traders, partnerships, some state government employees, corporations whose main activity is not trading or financial.

decision

A judgment or conclusion reached after considering the facts and law. A decision in relation to a matter before the Commission can include the names of the parties and will generally outline the basis for the application, comment on the evidence provided and include the judgment of the Commission in relation to the matter. A decision can be made by a single member or a Full Bench of the Commission. It is legally enforceable.

directions

Instructions given to the parties by the Commission that set out a timetable in accordance with which they must file in the Commission and serve on each other an outline of submissions, witness statements and any supporting documents.

evidence

Information which tends to prove or disprove the existence of particular belief, fact or proposition. Certain evidence may or may not be accepted by the Commission, however the Commission is not bound the normal rules of evidence. Evidence is usually contained within or attached to a witness statement or provided verbally by a witness in a hearing.

Fair Work Act 2009

The principal Commonwealth law governing Australia's workplace relations system. Go to the Fair Work Act 2009.

Fair Work Commission

Australia's independent, national workplace relations tribunal, established under the Fair Work Act 2009, from July 2009 to December 2012. Fair Work Australia assumed the functions of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission, and the Australian Fair Pay Commission and the agreement-making function of the Workplace Authority. Fair Work Australia was renamed the Fair Work Commission on 1 January 2013.

Full Bench

A Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission is convened by the Fair Work Commission President and comprises at least three Fair Work Commission Members, one of whom must be a Deputy President. Full Benches are convened to hear appeals, matters of significant national interest and various other matters specifically provided for in the Fair Work Act 2009.

harassment

Unwanted and offensive conduct or behaviour by a person or persons directed towards another person based on an attribute such as a person’s age, gender, race, religion or a disability. Harassment can be physical or psychological.

hearing

A public proceeding conducted by a Fair Work Commission Member. A hearing is generally more formal than a conference, and may be held if the matter can't be resolved at mediation, conciliation or conference.

jurisdiction

The scope of the Commission’s power and what the Commission can and cannot do. The power of the Commission to deal with matters is contained in legislation. The Commission can only deal with matters for which it has been given power by the Commonwealth Parliament.

jurisdictional objection

An objection to an application on the basis that the Fair Work Commission does not have jurisdiction to deal with the matter. A jurisdictional objection is not simply that the respondent thinks the applicant's case has no merit.

matter

A case or legal proceeding before the Commission.

mediation

An informal, confidential and voluntary process. It is one of the processes used by the Commission to facilitate the resolution of a grievance or a dispute between parties by helping them reach an agreement.

Member

A person appointed by the Governor-General to decide matters at the Commission. A Member may be the President, a Vice President, a Deputy President or a Commissioner.

non-constitutional corporation

An entity that is not a constitutional corporation. The following are not constitutional corporations:

  • sole traders
  • partnerships
  • some state government bodies
  • corporations whose activities do not include significant trading or financial functions (e.g. some charities).

order

An order is a ruling made by a Fair Work Commission Member after he or she hears your case. Once an order has been made, anyone bound by that order must follow it.

outcome

The end result of an application made to the Commission.

outline of submissions

A written document that clearly sets out the key elements of a case. All facts, information and evidence that you wish to bring to the attention of the Commission should be included in your outline of submissions.

partnership

An organisation in which two or more persons carry on a business together and it is not a constitutional corporation as defined.

party

A person or organisation involved in a matter before the Commission. A party is generally known as either an applicant or a respondent. 

principal

A person or business that has entered into a contract for services with an independent contractor.

private enterprise

A business owned and operated by private individuals for profit, instead of by a government or its agencies.

procedural fairness

When persons are treated equally or fairly before the law (also known as due process). For example, procedural fairness occurs when both parties to a dispute have an opportunity to be heard or to defend themselves.

pty ltd

A proprietary limited company. A constitutionally covered business.

reasonable management action

In relation to an anti-bullying application, reasonable management action is the action or behaviour of management that is considered to be carried out in a reasonable manner. Reasonable management action does not constitute workplace bullying.

Reasonable management action may include:

  • performance management processes
  • disciplinary action for misconduct
  • informing a worker about unsatisfactory work performance or inappropriate work behaviour
  • asking a worker to perform reasonable duties in keeping with their job, and
  • maintaining reasonable workplace goals and standards.

In each of these examples, if they are not carried out in a reasonable manner, then they could still be considered bullying.

service/to serve

A requirement to send a copy of a document (and all supporting documents) to another party or their representative, usually within a specified period. A person’s obligation to serve documents can be met in a number of ways. The acceptable ways in which a document can be served are listed in Parts 7 and 8 of the Fair Work Commissions Rules 2013.

sole trader

An organisation in which one person is responsible for the business.

WHS

Abbreviation for work health and safety.

WHS state or territory regulator

A body established by a state or territory government which regulates WHS laws in a particular state or territory. To find contact details for the regulator in your state or territory, go to the Enquiries page.

witness statement

A person who gives evidence in relation to something they saw, heard or experienced. A witness is required to take oath or affirmation before giving evidence at a formal hearing. The witness will be examined by the party that called them and may be cross examined by the opposing party to test their evidence.

worker

In relation to an anti-bullying application, the definition of a worker is drawn from the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. A worker can include:

  • an employee
  • a contractor or subcontractor
  • a person employed by a labour hire company who is working at a particular business or organisation
  • an outworker
  • an apprentice or a trainee
  • a work experience student
  • a volunteer.

Only people who are considered to be workers may apply for an order to stop bullying at work.

workplace

A place where a person performs work.

workplace bullying

See bullying at work.

Introduction

Table 1.1: Employer component (questionnaire) completions

Overview of the AWRS sample

Key characteristics of AWRS enterprises

Table 2.1: Counts of AWRS participating enterprises per ANZSIC division and employment size

Table 2.2: Unweighted counts and weighted estimates of enterprises by ANZSIC division and employment size

Table 2.3: Full-time equivalent and number of employees by employment size, number of employees

Key employee characteristics

Table 2.4: Unweighted counts of employees per ANZSIC Division by employment size

Table 2.5: Various employment characteristics of employees by gender, per cent of employees

Enterprise operations & indicators of performance

Structure

Table 3.1: Ownership metrics by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Market conditions & performance of AWRS enterprises

Table 3.2: Nature of market by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Table 3.3: Competition measures by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Table 3.4: Demand conditions by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Financial performance indicators

Table 3.5: Profitability in the last financial year by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Table 3.6: Financial performance indicators for last financial year compared to previous financial year, per cent of enterprises

Table 3.7:  Enterprise intentions for next 12 months by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Measurements of labour costs & labour productivity

Table 3.8: Wages and salaries as a proportion of sales and services income, per cent of enterprises

Figure 3.1: Workforce productivity comparison to last financial year

Employment practices

Workforce profile

Figure 4.1: Proportion of workforce employed directly by the enterprise, by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Table 4.1: Proportion of workforce by employment status, by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Table 4.2: Proportion of employee workforce by hours worked, by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Industrial instrument coverage & reasons for use

Figure 4.2: Number of enterprise agreements in place, per cent of enterprises

Table 4.3: Reasons for having an enterprise agreement, per cent of enterprises with an enterprise agreement in place

Table 4.4: Reasons for not having an enterprise agreement, per cent of enterprises that do not have an enterprise agreement in place

Workforce management practices

Operating practices & organisation of work

Table 4.5: Operating practices by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Table 4.6: Shift allocation practices, per cent of enterprises that have shift arrangements

Structure & hierarchy across the workforce

Table 4.7: Method of expressing organisational structure and/or hierarchy across the non-managerial workforce by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Use of development & progression practices across the employee workforce

Figure 4.3: Use of development and progression practices to employees of the enterprise, per cent of enterprises

Employee engagement practices

Table 4.8 Methods of communication to and/or from workforce used by enterprises by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Flexible working arrangements

Figure 4.4: Availability of flexible work practices to employees of the enterprise, per cent of enterprises

Table 4.9: Requests for flexible working arrangements received by enterprises since 1 July 2012, per cent of enterprises

Table 4.10: Requests for flexible working arrangements made by employees since 1 July 2012, per cent of employee

Table 4.11: IFAs made since 1 July 2012 varying when an employee’s work is performed by single & multiple IFA, per cent of enterprises

Table 4.12: Incidence of establishing a flexible work arrangement via an informal request, by gender & ANZSCO, per cent of employees

Table 4.13: Why employers don’t use IFAs by employment size, per cent of employers who had not made an IFA since 1 July 2012

Wage-setting & outcomes

Incidence of different methods of setting pay

Table 5.1: Incidence of different pay-setting methods, per cent of enterprises that have at least one employee paid by the method of setting pay

Table 5.2: Main method of setting pay by employment size, per cent of enterprises

Table 5.3: IFAs made since 1 July 2012 to modify wages of employee by employment size, per cent of employers who made an IFA that varied wages

Table 5.4: Method of setting pay for employees based on employer reported data, per cent of employees

Table 5.5: Method of setting pay by gender and industry, per cent of employees

Incidence of National Minimum Wage use

Table 5.6: Incidence of National Minimum Wage use by enterprises (at least 1 employee that has pay set by National Minimum Wage) & employee workforce, by employment size, per cent of enterprises & per cent of employees

Incidence of junior rates use

Table 5.7: Enterprises with employees paid junior rates by key industries & employment size, per cent of enterprises

Use of performance-based payments

Table 5.8: Use of performance-based payments in the last financial year by employment size, per cent of enterprises that have used performance-based payments

Wage increases

Table 5.9: Methods used to determine wage increase by employment size & main method of setting pay, per cent of enterprises

Table 5.10: Proportion of employees who had sought a better wage/salary since commencing their current job & outcome by gender, per cent of employees

Table 5.11: Reason why employees have not sought a better wage/salary since commencing their current role

Wage-setting outcomes

Table 5.12: Average hourly ordinary time cash earnings (AHOTCE) for non-casual employees, by method of setting pay & ratio of female to male earnings

Table 5.13: Enterprise agreement pay setting structures compared to awards by industry, per cent of enterprises with an enterprise agreement in place

Employee experiences

Job satisfaction of employees

Table 6.1: Average overall job satisfaction of employees & satisfaction with aspects of current employment by employee gender & hours worked

Table 6.2: Average overall job satisfaction of employees by employment size

Key drivers of job satisfaction

Figure 6.1: Aspects considered the most important when determining overall job satisfaction by gender, per cent of employees

Table 6.3: Aspects considered the most important when determining employee overall job satisfaction by industry, per cent of employees

Career development & opportunities

Table 6.4: Employees that have accessed training opportunities by gender, hours worked, employment status & funding source for training undertaken, per cent of employees

Table 6.5: Perceived barriers preventing employees from achieving particular career goals, per cent of employees

Preferences for more hours

Table 6.6: Employee preference for more or less hours if given the opportunity, by employee classification & status, per cent of employees

Future intentions of employees in the next 12 months

Table 6.7: Employee intentions in the next 12 months by industry, per cent of employees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated time

Last updated

05 February 2016