Meeting your obligations as an employer towards your employees requires an understanding of several legal issues.
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Minimum standardsWorkplace agreements and awardsEqual opportunityWork health and safetyMinimum standards
The courts have placed the employer-employee relationship within the framework of contract law.
Contract law assumes the parties to a contract are free and equal partners in bargaining - that is, in working out the terms of the contract.
The average employee has little choice about who to work for compared with the employer's ability to engage the employee or to hire someone else who is prepared to work for less pay under less attractive conditions. To help correct this imbalance, certain minimum standards have been set that must be met by employers in any employment relationship.
An employer and employee can still agree to any terms and conditions they might want to have in the contract of employment but if any fall below the minimum standards the law takes over and the situation is automatically corrected.
A full outline of the employer-employee relationship can be found in the
Law Handbook produced by the Legal Services Commission of South Australia.
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Workplace agreements and awards
Most workers are also covered by a workplace agreement or an award. Workplace agreements and awards set the terms and conditions to be observed in a workplace, occupation or industry.
Agreements and awards are made under:
South Australian businesses operate under national industrial relations (IR) laws. A full explanation of these
national IR laws can be found on the SafeWork SA website.
Equal opportunity
Information on
legal obligations for promoting equality at work can be found on the Equal Opportunity Commission website.
Work health and safety
Employers have an obligation to provide a safe workplace for their employees and comply with the Work Health and Safety Act 2012, which is administered by SafeWork SA.
SafeWork SA's workplace health and safety functions can be found on the SafeWork SA website.
Guidance on managing safety and information sheets on legislation relevant to work health and safety are also on the SafeWork SA website.
If you have a specific enquiry you can phone the SafeWork Help Centre on 1300 365 255.
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More information
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Contract law