Changes to the Fair Work Information Statement

This article outlines some recent changes to the Fair Work Information Statement as of September 2020.

What is the Fair Work Information Statement?

The Fair Work Information Statement (FWIS) provides employees with information relating to their conditions of employment under the Fair Work Act and National Employment Standards (NES).

The Fair Work Act states that employers must issue a copy of the FWIS to every new employee when they start work.

The FWIS stipulates information relating to the NES, rights to request flexible working arrangements, modern awards, individual flexibility arrangements, workplace rights, termination of employment, right of entry and making enterprise agreements under the Fair Work Act. It also summarises the roles of the Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman.

What has changed?

The FWIS was recently updated to reflect a High Court decision made regarding the accrual and taking of paid personal/carer’s leave under the NES (read more on the decision in an earlier article). This decision overturns a ruling that was previously made by the Full Federal Court in August 2019.

The previous verdict determined that employees were entitled to accrue 10 days of personal carer’s leave per year, regardless of their ordinary hours of work e.g. a part-time employee who worked 1 day per week was entitled to accrue 10 full days of personal/carer’s leave.

On 13 August 2020, the High Court ruled that the entitlement to 10 days of personal/carer’s leave is calculated based on the employee’s hours of work and not days worked. Employees, therefore, accrue up to 10 days of personal/carer’s leave per year, calculated as 1/26 of an employee’s ordinary hours of work during a year. This means part-time employees accrued a pro-rata amount of leave compared to full-time employees. As a result of the ruling, the FWIS has been updated, you can access the latest version of the statement here.