Young workers under the age of 18 in New South Wales must now be given fair pay and employment conditions, no matter which industrial relations system covers their work.

In New South Wales, workplace rights and entitlements (things like amount of pay, number of holidays etc.) are covered by two industrial relations systems: the NSW State award system and the federal system (Work Choices).

The NSW government has been worried that the federal system makes it very difficult for young people to negotiate individually with adult employers and achieve fair pay and conditions for the work they do.

Since December last year, the Industrial Relations (Child Employment) Act NSW 2006 has set the minimum standard for all young workers as the State award for the work they do.

As part of the new law, the State government asked the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) to develop guidelines for the courts and employers to follow, to make sure young workers' pay and conditions are protected.

On 22 May the IRC handed down its ruling on these guidelines, formally known as the No Net Detriment Principles. These Principles provide clear guidelines for fair treatment of the State's 70,000 young people who are employed under Work Choices.

The No Net Detriment Principles ensure that all workers under 18 years of age will have wages and conditions that are at least equal to the State award.

They place limits on late night and early morning work, require an employer to provide or pay for the cost of transport home after late night work, and set pay at the same level as the award. The Principles also require employers to demonstrate, that where conditions like minimum and maximum hours of work each day, minimum breaks between shifts and overtime vary from those in the award, the young person's well-being is not affected.

These Principles also offer protection from exploitation by employers who use 'template' agreements with low rates of pay and poor working conditions.

For more information about these new laws for young workers and the No Net Detriment Principles, and to access the employer and youth fact sheets on the new laws, go to www.industrialrelations.nsw.gov.au

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OIR has developed a new website for young workers. The Young People at Work website outlines their basic workplace rights and entitlements.

This site is attractive and easy to understand so you will also find it useful for your other clients, including people from culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

Information on the website is displayed in a very clear format and is broken down into topic areas, including:

• Looking for work - practical ideas to help with finding work
• Got the job - explains rights & entitlements (like pay, holidays etc)
• Leaving the job - what to do if leaving work

Young People at Work also gives many other tips and hints to help people get a job they like and stay happily employed. There is information on how to prepare a resume and how to behave at work, career advisor resources, links to other useful websites and a glossary explaining frequently used words and phrases.

The difference between work experience and trial work is clearly explained. This is a very important point to understand.

Work experience programs are usually conducted through a school or university. The purpose of work experience is for students to observe other workers and gain experience in the workplace. Participants in work experience programs are not usually required to do any work and will not usually be paid.

Employers may ask job seekers or new employees to work for a trial period, also known as a probation period. This can be for up to three months only (no longer). This gives both the employee and employer the chance to see if the job is suitable. Anyone completing a probation/trial period must be paid for any work they do during this period.

It is also possible to work as a volunteer, say for a charity, and not be paid. But unless the work is done as a volunteer or student participating in a work experience program, it must be paid for.

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OIR provides information about employment rights, obligations and conditions in NSW in six community languages. At the moment, the OIR website has information in Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Turkish and Vietnamese.

The fact sheet Working in NSW, outlines what every worker in NSW should know to ensure they are receiving the correct wage and their other rights and entitlements. It is available in these six languages, plus English, both at the web address above and in hard copy.

Access this fact sheet in community languages here. If you click on one of the languages listed along the top left hand side of this page, it will provide you with a translated version of the Community Languages page. If you click on one of the languages listed at the bottom left hand side of this page, it will take you to a translated page with options for viewing translated OIR publications and on-line information.

You can also download and print the translated version of this fact sheet or order printed copies. At the bottom right hand side of the OIR homepage, you will find the heading Publications. Scroll down to the alphabetical list of all OIR publications. From here you can view, download, print or order the fact sheet in the language of your choice.

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The NSW industrial relations system (the State award system) covers employers and employees in most unincorporated businesses in NSW. This is where the employer is a sole trader or in a partnership. They haven't formed a company and don't have Pty Ltd in their business name.

The NSW system also covers a smaller number of incorporated businesses operating in NSW such as some charities and not-for-profit organisations. Businesses may need to seek legal advice to determine whether NSW industrial relations laws apply to them.

Employers under the State system can continue to use the award system to set pay levels for their workers. They must pay at least the minimum rate set out in the appropriate award or agreement, including specified allowances or entitlements.

The federal system covers most employers who are incorporated (for example Pty Ltd is part of their company name).

If an employer is incorporated, their workers could be under a federal award or an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) or other agreement.

Some laws apply to ALL businesses and workers in NSW. These are laws about occupational health and safety, workers compensation, payment of wages, public holidays, long service leave, jury service, trading hours and anti-discrimination.

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OIR offers a range of presentations and information sessions to help you and your clients understand the NSW industrial relations laws that apply to you. Presentations include:

• Working in NSW (covers rights & entitlements in NSW, like getting the correct pay and holidays)
• Offered a Job (covers what you need to know when you are looking for work or have just started a job - including how to tell if you are under State or federal IR law)
• OIR Resources & Services (including a demonstration of electronic services and suggestions about how to use these with your clients)
• Awards (information about the award conditions for various types of work, including child care, clerical, hair & beauty, hospitality, metals industry, and social & community services)
• or a combination of these

Our experienced presenters are happy to come out and talk to you and your work colleagues and/or groups of your students or clients about any of these subjects.

You can choose what style of presentation you would like (formal/informal/discussion/Question & Answer session etc.) and our presenters will make sure their information is suitable for your group. Please book your presentation as far ahead of the presentation date as you can and also remember that we need at least ten people in each session.

Email crt@oir.commerce.nsw.gov.au for a copy of the booking form.

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OIR now has a web cast service so you can see and hear information at a time that suits you. You can also use these services with your clients in a group setting.

From the Look & Listen page on our website, you can download the soundtrack of an OIR presentation to your own computer or portable MP3 player and then play it later.

You can also watch the slideshow or video of an OIR presentation from your computer using our video streaming function. This is like watching TV. You watch the presentation slideshow or video as it plays. You can't save it to your computer or MP3 player but you can watch it from our website as many times as you want to.

You will need Windows Media Player and/or an MP3 player to listen to our programs and your computer must have a sound card. Please note the video and audio streaming presentations require the latest Windows Media Player 10. This can be downloaded free from the Look & Listen section of our website.

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Q.  What age can I start work?

A.  There is no minimum legal age for starting work in New South Wales. Many teenagers start a part-time or casual job while still at school.

But if you are under the age of 15 and looking for full-time work because you want to leave school, you need to get permission to do this from the NSW Department of Education and Training on 9561 8000.

Q.  What is an award?

A.  An award lists the rights and obligations of employers and employees in particular types of work. There are many different types of awards covering different industries and occupations.

Awards cover conditions of employment including:

• Hours of work
• Pay rates, penalty rates, overtime and other loadings, such as annual leave loading
• Allowances, for example for tools or uniforms
• Leave entitlements
• Employment protection provisions, for example redundancy payments
• Part-time and casual work

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It can be confusing to know which IR system you are under. If you need more information or help, contact our friendly staff on the number above. Remember, the OIR provides a range of services to help both employees and employers with their rights and obligations under the NSW State system and also young workers under 18 working for employers in the federal system.

• Young People at Work website
• New laws for workers under 18 - Information for employers
• New Child Labour laws for NSW - What young workers need to know
• OIR Publications

This is your newsletter and we are keen to hear from you so we can continually improve it and keep it relevant. Please email us at: crt@oir.commerce.nsw.gov.au with any comments or suggestions for future editions. Thank you for your interest in the Work Smart e-newsletter.

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