Regulation Impact Statement – Attorney-General’s Department
On 9 December 2020, the Government introduced the Fair Work Amendment (Supporting Australia's Jobs and Economic Recovery) Bill 2020 to change the conditions upon which employers and employees could agree additional hours and accrue benefits across awards covering the hospitality and retail industries.
The reform would allow employers to offer employees additional hours at ordinary pay rates, subject to certain conditions being met. This would provide a uniform approach across awards in these industries under which employees can agree to work additional hours, and provide additional flexibilities for employers that take into account the operational realities in modern workplaces, particularly those involving customer service.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assessed the Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) prepared by the Attorney-General’s Department as adequate with the Government’s requirements. To achieve good practice, the RIS could have:
- provided more contextual information on how the industrial relations framework operates in Australia, and thereby provide more clarity on how the proposed options would have flow-on impacts affecting employers and employees;
- demonstrated why the proposed part-time flexibility does not extend beyond the retail and hospitality industries when that flexibility is so beneficial to both employers and employees; and
- provided evidence verifying the stated costs and benefits for the alternative option to create a new statutory form of employment (flexible part-time).
The RIS estimates the average annual regulatory savings of $0.4m.