Preventing workplace problems

Employers and employees can prevent workplace problems by knowing their workplace rights and obligations. Find out how to prevent and resolve issues in the workplace.

On this page:

Understand your rights and obligations

Employers and employees must know their rights and obligations in their workplace. This includes knowing what workplace instrument applies, such as an award or agreement, and understanding the minimum entitlements.

Most problems in the workplace happen when people don’t know the correct workplace entitlements.

Knowing this information helps to maintain a compliant and productive work environment. Recognising and raising issues before they become a problem can also help with this.

The information on this page will help you become better informed and guide you to speak to your employer or employee if there is a problem.

Case study – Emilie’s story maintaining compliance as a small business owner

Emilie, a small business owner, shares her story about how we helped her understand her rights and obligations when she started a new business.

Know the minimum entitlements

To understand your rights and obligations, you need to know which minimum entitlements apply.

You can build up your knowledge by using the information below to learn more about the essentials. This includes information on:

National Employment Standards

The National Employment Standards (NES) are the minimum employment entitlements that apply to most employees.

The NES and the National Minimum Wage make up the minimum entitlements for most employees in Australia.

Employers must give every new employee the relevant information statements when they start work. To find out more about the different information statements and when they apply, visit Information statements.

Understand which award or agreement applies

For most employees, minimum pay rates and conditions of employment will come from an award or enterprise agreement.

Awards

Awards are legal documents that set out the minimum pay rates and conditions of employment. Knowing which award applies helps make sure employees get their correct entitlements.

There are more than 100 awards that cover most people who work in Australia, based on their industry or occupation.

For more information, visit Awards.

For help working out which award applies and to calculate the right pay rate, use our Pay and Conditions Tool.

Enterprise agreements

Minimum employment conditions can also be set out in an enterprise agreement or other registered agreement.

When an agreement is in place the relevant award doesn’t apply. However, the NES still apply and minimum pay rates in an agreement can’t be less than the award.

Find out more about when agreements apply.

To find an enterprise agreement, visit the Fair Work Commission website.

Not covered by an award or enterprise agreement

In some instances, an employee may be award and agreement free. Learn more about Award and agreement free wages and conditions.

Pay and wages

Minimum pay rates

All employees are entitled to a minimum wage. Minimum pay rates come from:

  • awards
  • enterprise agreements, or
  • the National Minimum Wage, if no award or agreement applies.

To check minimum pay rates in an award, including penalties and allowances under an award, use our Pay and Conditions Tool.

For more information on pay, including penalty rates, allowances and deductions, visit Pay and wages.

In some cases, an employer may pay an employee an annualised salary. This must still cover all minimum requirements provided by the relevant award. For more information, see Annualised wages.

Job ads and minimum pay rates

Job advertisements (ads) can't include pay rates that breach:

  • the Fair Work Act, or
  • a fair work instrument (such as an award or enterprise agreement).

For more information, visit Job ads.

Pay slips and record-keeping

Employers must give pay slips and keep accurate records about pay, hours of work and other employment details.

For more information about record-keeping, including what needs to be on a pay slip, visit Paying wages.

Leave and other entitlements

Entitlements like breaks and allowances are different depending on the award or agreement that applies. For more information and resources to help you work out the rules that apply to you, visit Employment conditions.

Our Leave page has information about leave entitlements as well as popular topics including:

Tools and resources – Leave entitlements

You can use our Leave Calculator to work out annual and sick leave entitlements and balances.

Use our range of free templates to make a leave request, record a leave agreement or direct an employee to take leave.

Communicate effectively

Good communication in the workplace can help prevent workplace problems and resolve issues quickly. Employers and employees are responsible for communicating with each other at and about work.

Employees

Employees should feel comfortable speaking to their employer about their work. Employees should discuss if there are going to be changes to their work or personal life that may affect them in the workplace.

If you have a question about your work or a workplace issue, we encourage you to speak to your employer about it first.

Employers

Good communication starts from the day you hire a new employee. You should make sure that your employees are comfortable asking you questions and raising issues or concerns with you or a manager. This way any issues can be identified and resolved quickly.

Making sure employees are aware of their job classifications can also help them understand your expectations. Discussions with employees about changes to their role, employment conditions, or the work environment is important for a productive and engaging workplace.

Conversations in the workplace

Raising issues in the workplace can be uncomfortable. Our online courses can help you feel more confident having difficult conversations in the workplace.

Consultation is also required in some situations. Check your award or agreement for consultation provisions. Find more information in our Consultation and cooperation in the workplace guide.

Stay up to date

It’s important to stay up to date with changes to workplace laws. Knowing which pay rates and entitlements apply to you or your employees is one of the easiest ways to prevent problems from happening.

Keep up to date with important workplace issues by subscribing for email updates.

To learn more about recent changes, visit Workplace laws.

Fixing a problem in the workplace

We have step-by-step guides to help employers and employees discuss and resolve common problems at work. Check if your issue is one of our Common workplace problems.

You can also find a checklist to help with solving any problem in the workplace at Raising your problem in the workplace.

Tools and resources

More information