Fair Pay Agreement Q&A

This is the single biggest legislation change since the early 1990’s and, as an employer you need to be prepared as you have legal obligations in respect of provision of information, access to staff etc.

Max Whitehead will be joining me for an open forum Q&A session with the goal of helping you understand the practical aspects of “what do I need to do” to a) prepare and b) respond if/when I get approached about an FPA.

In brief summary, the Fair Pay Agreement Act means that industry-wide or occupation-wide terms of agreement can be negotiated and agreed between Unions and an Employer negotiating body. This will generate a 3 to 5 year agreement that is legally binding on all employers and employees who are within the defined coverage of the agreement. For example, the coverage may be for “cleaners”. If you employ a “cleaner” even part-time, that cleaner would fall within the coverage of that FPA. There is no ability to opt-out from any party (employer or employee), and there are fines of up to $40K for businesses that fail to comply.