National Employment Standards
What is the NES?
The National Employment Standards ("the NES") are 10 minimum standards of employment set out in the Fair Work Act 2009 ("the Act") which apply to all national system employees and employers. The NES commenced on 1 January 2010 and, in conjunction with modern awards and enterprise agreements, create safety net entitlements for all employees.
Modern awards and enterprise agreements may not exclude the NES or provide for any less generous entitlements, but may contain ancillary and supplementary terms. The NES can apply differently to award/agreement free employees than they do to award/agreement based employees. If any agreements made prior to the commencement of the NES contain terms which are detrimental to employees compared the NES, those terms have no effect.
The 10 NES are:
- Maximum Weekly Hours
- Flexible Working Arrangements for Parents
- Parental Leave
- Annual Leave
- Personal/carer's Leave
- Community Service Leave
- Long Service Leave
- Public Holidays
- Notice of Termination and Redundancy Pay
- Fair Work Information Statement
Please note that the information contained in this fact sheet is of a general nature and does not constitute advice of any form. Advice on the specific circumstances of any particular case should always be sought before taking any action. If you need any advice, or for any other enquiry please contact us.