As an employer you are responsible for ensuring your employees receive their employment rights.
If you are a labour on hire or temping agency and your worker is working in a client’s business, you are still responsible for ensuring your employees receive their employment rights and are treated fairly in that workplace.
It is your duty to make sure that your business is confident that it applies ethical and sustainable work practices.
What are ethical and sustainable work practices
Employers who treat their workers unfairly by failing to provide their employment rights gain an unfair and unsustainable competitive advantage. This creates risks for both their own business and their industry that include:
- losing access to markets and migrant labour
- damaging the business’s and product’s brand reputation through negative word-of-mouth by customers and publicity via the media (social and traditional)
- missing out on financial investment
- being unable to attract potential employees
- not achieving the productivity potential of the business
- being subject to enforcement action such as financial penalties and being banned from hiring migrant labour
- creating unfair competition within industries entrenching poor business models
- developing an environment where the local workforce becomes disengaged
- negatively impacting the health, safety and wellbeing of the workforce.
Legal consequences of non-compliance
There can also be legal consequences for businesses that don’t comply with employment standards. These can include payment of arrears, infringement fines, and penalties. For serious breaches consequences can include penalties, compensation orders, and banning orders.
Non-compliance and the Labour Inspectorate
Identifying and minimising non-compliance
You can take steps to identify and minimise labour rights risks and issues of non-compliance in your business.
Identify and minimise labour rights issues in your business
Businesses that want to identify and eliminate labour rights risks in their supply chains or their own procurement should find out whether they comply with employment standards.
Identify and minimise labour rights issues in your supply chains [PDF 861KB]
Guidance for procurers on ethical and sustainable work practices.
Tools and Resources
Employment standards: employer self-assessment checklist - PDF 2.3MB
Check that your business is meeting employment standards.
Employment standards: employer self-assessment guide - PDF 2.3MB
Supporting information for the checklist.
Identify and minimise labour rights issues in your supply chains - PDF 861KB
Guidance for procurers on ethical and sustainable work practices.