State Laws on Youth Rates Overruled
You are here:Fair Work Regulations remove double requirement for Federal employers in relation to Children (under 18s).
As a response to Work Choices, some States (NSW and Queensland) previously passed State laws requiring employers to pay minimum wages and conditions applicable under State Awards to under 18s under Child Labour exemptions to Work Choices.
For example, in NSW, we advised in our February 2007 newsletter -
"In November 2006 the NSW government passed legislation protecting employees under 18 from the impact of WorkChoices. The legislation provides that all employers in NSW who have entered into AWA’s or Collective Agreements after 27 March 2006 (the introduction date of Work Choices) or a common law contract of employment with children must provide terms and conditions that are at least equivalent to the applicable NSW Award.
"A test case will be heard by the NSW Industrial Relations Commission to establish "no net detriment" principles."
This created a double set of minimum for employers, at least in terms of wages and conditions for juniors under the age of 18.
Fair Work Regulations Change This
Under recent Fair Work regulations, Federal system employers will no longer need to comply with the minimum conditions under State awards for children (under 18s), excepting for laws dealing with the times and periods during which children may be employed (for example, we are aware of State laws in Queensland and Western Australia (to name 2 states) where laws regulate the permitted working hours for juniors).
Employers will however still need to meet the requirements of the Fair Work Act and tests such as the No Disadvantage Test (up until 31/12/09) and then the replacement "Better Off Overall Test" from 1/1/10 (see earlier article regarding the 'BOOT' test).
