Key changes to WA’s industrial relations laws took effect on 20 Jun 2022, with the amendments covering a range of employment provisions including leave, contracts, harassment, and right of entry rules.

On 16 December 2021, the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 (IRLA Act) was passed by the State WA Parliament.

These laws are expected to become law sometime between April – June 2022.

Following their annual review, the Fair Work Commission (the “FWC”) has made a number of changes, including changes to the national minimum wage, modern award rate and high income threshold that took effect as of 1 July 2022.

From Friday 10 June 2022, changes were made to existing COVID-19 mandatory workplace vaccination requirements. From this date, the vaccine mandates only apply to workforces working with the most vulnerable to protect them from severe disease, including:

• Healthcare and health support workers in hospitals and primary health care settings;
• Workers in residential aged care facilities; and
• Disability support accommodation workers.

A flexible working arrangement is an agreement between an employer and an employee to change the standard working arrangement to better fit an employee’s circumstances outside of work. These can include aspects such as flexibility in the hours of work, location of work and so on.

As the flu season approaches, employers should be aware of the relevant statutory entitlements available to employees who are sick and how to manage these effectively.