Pay and work conditions

What are the N​ational Employment Standards?

The National Employment Standards (NES) set out 11 minimum conditions for national system employees. They include the minimum entitlements for leave, public holidays, notice of termination and ​redundancy pay.

For more information, see National Employment Standards on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

When can I take my annual leave?

Generally, you can take annual leave as soon as you have accumulated it, and when you reach an agreement with your employer about the best time to take it. In some cases, your employer can force you to take annual leave at a certain time.

If you can't reach an agreement with your employer about when you can take annual leave, you can:

• negotiate with them.
• contact the Fair Work Ombudsman about your situation.

For more information, see Annual leave and leave loading on the My problem is about section of our website.

If you believe your employer is being unfair or has breached your general protections rights by not approving leave at the time you want to take it, you should get legal advice

When can I take family and domestic violence leave?

You can request leave to deal with family and domestic violence matters when you need to do something to deal with the impact of the family and domestic violence and it is not practical for you to undertake such tasks outside of your ordinary work hours.

For example, 

• arranging for your safety or a close relative, including relocating, 
• attending court hearings, and 
• accessing police services.

Under the National Employment Standards (NES), all employees including casuals are entitled to family and domestic violence leave.

If you are an employee of a small business (with less than 15 employees), you are entitled to take five days unpaid family and domestic violence leave every year. You can take this leave as one block of five days, separate days or any separate period less than a day.

From the 1 August 2023, employees of small businesses will be entitled to take 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave each year. Until then, small business employees can continue to take unpaid family and domestic violence leave.

If you are an employee of a non-small business (with 15 or more employees), you are entitled to 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave every year. You can take this leave as one block of ten days, separate days or any separate period less than a day.

Paid family and domestic violence leave has to be recorded on a pay slip as normal pay for ordinary hours of work, or any other kind of payment for performing work, such as an allowance, bonus or overtime. You can also request that the leave is recorded as another type of leave. 

For more information, see Family and domestic violence leave on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Am I entitled to annual​ leave loading?

You are only entitled to annual leave loading if your award, agreement, contract or workplace ​policy entitles you to loading. 

Can my employer force me t​​o take my annual leave?

In some circumstances, your employer can force you to take some of your annual leave at a certain time, for example, at the time of an annual shut-down or when you have accumulated excessive amounts of leave.  

This will depend on whether your contract, award or agreement allows your employer to direct you to take leave at a particular time.

For more information, see Directing an employee to take annual leave on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

How do I find out what amo​unt I should be paid?

The amount you should be paid as an employee can be found in your agreement, award or industrial instrument. An award or industrial instrument usually sets the minimum amount of pay for your job and industry or workplace. 

For information, see Employment conditions on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Your employment agreement can also set your pay, but an employment agreement can't normally provide less than the applicable award or industrial agreement. If no award or industrial agreement applies to you, then you can't be paid less than the national​ minimum wage​.

For more information, see Minimum wages on the Fair Work Ombudsman website. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman has an online calculator which can calculate what wages apply to your award and can also provide other useful information about your entitlements.

For more information, see Pay calculator on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

If you think you are being underpaid, you should get legal advice.

Do I have to provide m​y employer with a medical certificate?

Your employer can ask you to provide a medical certificate if you take personal leave, such as sick leave or carer's leave. Under the National Employment​ Standards (NES)​ you must provide your employer with proof of why you needed the leave, such as a:

• medical certificate, or
• Statutory Declaration.
  

If you are absent for a longer period of time or on particular days, such as regularly taking sick leave on a Friday, it may be reasonable for your employer to request that you provide a medical certificate for those absences.

You can also check your award or employment contract for more information about personal leave.

For more information, see Sick & carer’s leave on the Fair Work Ombudsman website. 

If you have a dispute or disciplinary issue related to sick leave, you should get legal advice.

Does a medical certificate have to state the reason I was sick?​

A medical certificate does not have to state why you are sick but it needs to stat​​e that you will be unfit for work during the period you are off work because of a personal illness or injury. 

If you are going to be off work frequently or for an extended period of time, it may be reasonable for your employer to ask for more information about your illness. 

If you have a dispute at work because of an illness or injury, you should get legal advice. 

Am I entitled to leave if a family member is seriously ill?

When a member of your immediate family dies or suffers serious illness or injury, you are entitled to take two days compassionate leave. This can be:

• a single continuous two day period
• two separate periods of one day each
• any other period you and the employer agree to.

For more information, see Compassionate & bereavement leave on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

How do I know if superann​uation has been paid?

You should check with your superannuation fund to find out whether payments have been made. If your employer has not done this, you can ask them to make up the payments.

If the superannuation contributions are still not made, or are paid late, you can contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to make a complaint against your employer. 

For more information, see:

• Super on the ATO website
• Tax & superannuation on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

In some cases you can take legal action to recover superannuation but you should get legal advice about your situation first.

Can my employer deduct ​​​money from my wages?

Generally, your employer can't deduct money from your wages without your agreement. 

For more information, see Deducting pay & overpayments on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

If your employer deducts or threatens to deduct money from your pay without your agreement you should speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

For more information, see Contact us on the Fair Work Ombudsman website. 

If your employer is taking legal action against you to recover a debt, you should get legal advice.

Can an employer deduct mone​​y from my wages if they have overpaid me?

Your employer may have a legal right to recover money they have overpaid you, but they can't deduct it from your pay unless you agree. The agreement should also be in writing and should cover the amount to be repaid, how and when each payment will be made and the amount of each repayment. 

For more information, see Deducting pay & overpayments on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

If your employer deducts money from your pay without your agreement you should speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

If your employer is taking legal action against you to recover a debt, you should get legal advice.

I am a casual employee. Can I ask my employer to make me a permanent employee?

Under the National Employment Standards, some employees have the right to become a full-time or part-time employee. This is known as casual conversion.

Where an employee has the right to casual conversion, their employer must make a written offer to convert them to permanent employment within 21 days of the employee becoming eligible for casual conversion.

Casual employees that don’t have the right to casual conversion may still be able to request that their employer offer them permanent employment.

For more information, see the Casual Employment Information Statement on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.

Do I have the right to casual conversion?

You may have the right to casual conversion if you:

• have been employed for 12 months by your current employer
• have worked a regular pattern of hours on an ongoing basis for at least six months
• you can continue to work that regular pattern of hours as a permanent employee without significant change.

Your employer doesn’t have to offer you casual conversion if:

• there are reasonable grounds for your employer not to offer you casual conversion
• you haven’t worked a regular pattern of hours for at least six months
• your employer is a small business (less than 15 employees).

If you don’t have the right to casual conversion, you may still be able to request that your employer offers you casual conversion.

For more information, see the Casual Employment Information Statement on the Fair Work Ombudsman website.