10 Things Your Boss Can't Legally Do

Your employer must pay you in full and on time — every single pay period, no exceptions. Under section 323 of the Fair Work Act 2009, wages must be paid at least monthly in money (by electronic transfer or another agreed method), and within the timeframe specified in your award or agreement.

In the real world, this means your boss cannot:

• Delay your pay because the business is "having cash flow issues"
• Withhold pay as punishment for poor performance or a mistake
• Deduct money from your wages without your written agreement (section 324)
• Pay you below the minimum wage ($24.10/hour as of July 2025) or your award rate

Wage theft is now a criminal offence at the federal level under laws that took effect in January 2025. Employers who deliberately underpay workers face fines up to $7.825 million for companies or $1.565 million for individuals, plus potential jail time.

What to do: Use our Pay Calculator to check your correct rate, then compare it to your payslip. If there's a shortfall, use the Underpaid Check tool to calculate exactly how much you're owed and get step-by-step reporting instructions.

If your award or enterprise agreement includes penalty rates for weekends, public holidays, or overtime, your employer must pay them. This isn't optional — it's a legally enforceable entitlement under the National Employment Standards and your applicable modern award.

Common tricks employers try:

• Claiming you're "salaried" so penalties don't apply (they still can — check your award coverage)
• Asking you to work overtime "off the books" or start before your rostered shift unpaid
• Paying a flat rate that doesn't actually cover the penalty-rate equivalent
• Averaging hours in a way that hides overtime entitlements

Under section 62 of the Fair Work Act, an employer must not request or require an employee to work more than 38 hours per week (for full-time) unless the additional hours are reasonable. Even then, overtime rates under your award must apply.

What to do: Check your exact penalty rates with our Penalty Rates Calculator and use the Overtime Pay Calculator to see what you should actually be earning for extra hours.

Taking a sick day is a protected entitlement, not a reason for dismissal. Under section 352 of the Fair Work Act, an employer must not dismiss an employee because they are temporarily absent from work due to illness or injury.

Full-time and part-time employees get 10 days of paid personal/carer's leave per year (section 96), and it accumulates. Your boss cannot:

• Fire you for calling in sick when you have leave available
• Pressure you to come in when you're genuinely ill
• Require a medical certificate for a single day (unless your award specifically requires it or it's a pattern)
• Count legitimate sick days against you in performance reviews

There is a protection period: an employer cannot dismiss you for a temporary absence due to illness or injury for up to 3 months (or 3 months in total over 12 months). After that, different rules apply, but you may still be protected under disability discrimination laws.

What to do: Track your leave balance using our Sick Leave Calculator. If you've been dismissed while on sick leave, use the Unfair Dismissal Checker to see if you have a case — you have 21 days to lodge a claim.

Since 26 August 2024, most Australian employees have the right to disconnect — meaning you can refuse to monitor, read, or respond to work communications outside your working hours, unless your refusal is unreasonable.

This right was introduced under the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes No. 2) Act 2024 and applies to all non-small-business employers (15+ employees) from August 2024, and small businesses from August 2025.

Your boss cannot:

• Discipline you for not answering emails or calls after hours
• Expect you to monitor a work phone or messaging app during your personal time
• Make negative comments about your "availability" outside rostered hours
• Give you less favourable treatment because you exercised this right

The Fair Work Commission can issue stop orders and award compensation if your employer penalises you for disconnecting. Penalties for employers who breach the right to disconnect can reach $18,780 per contravention for individuals and $93,900 for companies.

What to do: If your employer is pressuring you to be "always on", raise it informally first, then in writing. Keep records of after-hours contact. If it continues, you can apply to the Fair Work Commission for a stop order.

Rest breaks aren't a nice-to-have — they're a legal requirement. Most modern awards require employers to provide a 30-minute unpaid meal break after no more than 5 hours of continuous work, plus paid rest breaks of 10 minutes during the shift.

Your employer cannot:

• Ask you to work through your lunch break without pay or time in lieu
• Interrupt your break with work tasks and call it a "break"
• Require you to stay at your desk or workstation during an unpaid meal break
• Schedule back-to-back shifts with no break between them (most awards require minimum 8-12 hour gaps)

Under section 145A of the Fair Work Act, if there's a dispute about breaks, the Fair Work Commission can deal with it. Many awards also include provisions for broken shift allowances and overtime triggers if breaks aren't provided.

What to do: Check your break entitlements under your specific award using our Break Compliance Checker. Document every time you're asked to work through a break — times, dates, what you were asked to do.

Your employer can't just change your shift at the last minute and expect you to show up. Under most modern awards, employers must provide at least 7 days' notice of a roster change, unless you genuinely agree to a shorter notice period.

Specifically, your boss cannot:

• Change your roster with less than 7 days' notice (under most awards)
• Reduce your hours to pressure you into quitting
• Swap you from day shifts to night shifts without proper consultation
• Cancel your shift after you've already arrived at work without paying you

Many awards also include minimum engagement periods — for example, a casual employee called in must be paid for a minimum of 2-3 hours regardless of whether there's work to do. Some awards include specific clopening protections that require minimum gaps between a closing shift and the next opening shift.

What to do: Check your award's rostering provisions using our Award Finder. Keep screenshots or photos of your original roster and any changes. If your hours are being cut as retaliation, this may be an adverse action claim.

Under section 65 of the Fair Work Act, certain employees have the right to request flexible working arrangements, and your employer can only refuse on reasonable business grounds — and must respond in writing within 21 days.

You can make a request if you've worked for at least 12 months (or are a long-term casual with a reasonable expectation of ongoing employment) and you:

• Are a parent or carer of a child who is school-age or younger
• Are a carer (within the meaning of the Carer Recognition Act 2010)
• Have a disability
• Are 55 or older
• Are experiencing family or domestic violence
• Are pregnant

Since 6 June 2023, if your employer refuses your request, you can take the dispute to the Fair Work Commission, which can make binding orders. Your employer must genuinely try to find alternative arrangements before refusing. A blanket "no" without explanation is not lawful.

What to do: Put your request in writing, referencing section 65. If refused, ask for written reasons. If those reasons seem unreasonable, you can apply to the Fair Work Commission for assistance.

Workplace discrimination and bullying are unlawful under both the Fair Work Act and federal/state anti-discrimination legislation. Under section 351 of the Fair Work Act, an employer must not take adverse action against an employee because of their race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, political opinion, national extraction, or social origin.

This means your employer cannot:

• Pay you less because of your gender, race, or age
• Refuse to promote you because of your religion or sexual orientation
• Make offensive comments or "jokes" about a protected attribute
• Repeatedly behave unreasonably towards you in a way that creates a risk to health and safety (this is the legal definition of workplace bullying under section 789FD)

Since 6 March 2023, the Fair Work Commission also has the power to deal with sexual harassment complaints in the workplace, including ordering compensation and issuing stop orders.

What to do: Document every incident with dates, times, witnesses, and what was said or done. Report it internally first (to HR or a manager), then externally to the Fair Work Commission, the Australian Human Rights Commission, or your state anti-discrimination body.

Your right to join (or not join) a union is one of the most strongly protected rights in Australian workplace law. Under section 346 of the Fair Work Act, an employer must not take adverse action against an employee because they are, or are not, a member of a union — or because they choose to participate in lawful union activities.

Your boss cannot:

• Ask you in a job interview whether you're a union member
• Refuse to hire you because you belong to a union
• Threaten to cut your hours, demote you, or sack you for union membership
• Prevent a union delegate from entering the workplace (if proper entry requirements are met)
• Discourage or pressure you against joining a union

Penalties for breaching freedom of association provisions are severe: up to $93,900 per contravention for a company and $18,780 for an individual. The reverse onus of proof applies in general protections claims — meaning if you can show you were a union member and adverse action was taken, the employer must prove it was for a different reason.

What to do: If you suspect you've been treated unfairly because of union membership or activity, contact your union representative immediately. You can also lodge a general protections application with the Fair Work Commission.

This is one of the most important — and most commonly breached — protections in Australian workplace law. Under sections 340-343 of the Fair Work Act, an employer must not take adverse action against you because you exercised (or proposed to exercise) a workplace right. Making a complaint or inquiry is a workplace right.

This means your employer cannot:

• Fire you for raising a safety concern
• Demote you for asking about your pay rate or entitlements
• Reduce your hours because you lodged a workers' compensation claim
• Give you a bad reference because you made a complaint to the Fair Work Ombudsman
• Treat you differently because you participated in a workplace investigation

The protection also extends to prospective employees (you can't be refused a job because you made a complaint at a previous employer) and independent contractors in some circumstances.

General protections claims can result in reinstatement, compensation, and penalties. Unlike unfair dismissal, there's no minimum employment period and no small business exemption — these protections apply from day one.

What to do: If you've been fired, demoted, or treated unfairly after making a workplace complaint, you likely have a general protections claim. Use our Unfair Dismissal Checker to assess your options. You must lodge within 21 days of dismissal — don't wait.