When working in an employment services setting, you must have a clear understanding of your work role so that you can operate effectively and competently in line with the legal requirements of your sector.
Employment services work can be varied and diverse, bringing you into contact with a large number of different work types, employers, clients and industries. You will need to have an understanding of some of the legal requirements which are applicable to each of the settings where you provide services, and importantly you also need to have a good working knowledge of your own legal rights and responsibilities.
Legal rights
You have many legal rights which apply to your own work in employment services. Some of these rights may vary depending upon your employment status, such as whether you are working as an employee or as a contractor.
Your rights may include:
▪ The right to a safe and healthy workplace
▪ The right to fair payment in line with relevant awards, agreements or individual contracts
▪ The right to a minimum set of conditions
▪ The right to a workplace which is free of bullying, harassment, intimidation and threats
▪ The right to flexibility in line with the National Employment Standards or other awards and agreements
▪ The right to superannuation and workover.
Legal responsibilities
You have many responsibilities in your work in employment services. When you begin work it is likely that you will be asked to sign a contract of employment. This will set out the requirements for your position, and will help you understand your legal responsibilities. You should make sure you are very clear about what you are required to do to comply with the law, and always check with your supervisor if you need clarification.
It is likely that the policies, procedures and protocols of your workplace will have been developed to ensure that your work is in line with legal responsibilities. If you follow the establishing systems of work, you will be complying with your legal responsibilities.
Activity
| Activity | Access a position description for an employment services position. Read the document and use two different coloured highlighters – one for rights and one for responsibilities. Highlight the rights and responsibilities you find in the position description. If you were offered this position, what questions would you need to ask to make sure you understood your legal responsibilities? Where else could you look for information? |
Scope of own role
When you begin working in employment services, you will not be expected to know and do everything. In every job, there are specific tasks and responsibilities which are required and which are considered to be a regular part of that position. This is referred to as the ‘scope’ of the role; it includes the activities, duties, responsibilities and areas of work which are generally required.
The scope of a job is not an exhaustive list because there will always be situations and tasks that arise unexpectedly and which can be reasonably expected of a person holding that position. It is not possible to write a list that covers every eventuality which might arise.
You should expect that the scope of your job covers most of the areas of work that will occur and that there will also be other tasks which arise from time to time that are of a similar level of accountability and require a similar degree of knowledge and skill to be performed.
Example:
Jim works as a supervisor in an employment service. Although his regular job involves leading a small team of case managers providing employment services to clients, he does also fill in for his manager as the onsite senior supervisor from time to time. This is not a regular arrangement, but it is within Jim’s skills and knowledge to be able to carry out these tasks. Jim knows that although taking on the role of onsite senior supervisor is outside the scope of his regular workplace duties, it is still a reasonable expectation because his position description includes reference to other duties that are required from time to time to cover staff absences or unexpected events.
Own employment conditions
Your own employment conditions will be included in your position description and in any relevant awards, enterprise agreements or individual employment agreement that you negotiate with your own employer. Employment conditions are an agreement which is reached between an employer and an employee.
Employment conditions can include areas such as:
- Hours of work each day and week
- Overtime arrangements
- Access to paid and unpaid leave
- Termination of employment
- Period of employment (this may be for a certain period of time, or ongoing)
- Special payments and allowances (such as for working an active night shift, sleepover, laundry or travel allowance)
- Meal and other breaks during work
- Expectations and conditions such as dress code, smoking, drug or alcohol testing, use of social media or mobile phones at work or in relation to work
You should have a good understanding of your own employment conditions. If you do not understand them or if you do not have a written copy, contact your supervisor or Human Resources department at your workplace.
Industrial relations legislation relevant to employment conditions
There are laws that protect the rights of workers in the workplace. Some of these laws relate to employment conditions and specify the minimum expectations which apply to anyone who is working in an Australian workplace.
The National Employment Standards (NES) are a set of standards that employers must meet as a minimum. Of course, employment conditions can exceed the standards, but they cannot include any conditions which are less than those specified in the National Employment Standards.
The NES covers conditions such as leave entitlements, weekly hours, requests for flexible working arrangements, termination and redundancy and the right to receive a copy of the NES.
| Read | Visit the website for the Fair Work Ombudsman and download a copy of the Introduction to the NES Factsheet for your files. https://www.fairwork.gov.au/how-we-will-help/templates-and-guides/fact-sheets/minimum-workplace-entitlements/introduction-to-the-national-employment-standards |
Balancing everyone’s rights
In any workplace, it is important that there is a balance between the rights of employers, workers, contractors and others who visit the work site (such as customers, clients or members of the general public). Sometimes rights can seem as if they are in competition with each other – after all, how do you meet the needs of everyone in the one workplace? But with some careful planning and thinking, it is possible to find a good balance which meets the needs of everyone, and which complies with the law.
Rights and responsibilities of employers, clients and workers
The rights and responsibilities of employers, clients and workers vary depending on a number of factors. This includes: