Workplace Glossary

Abandonment of employment is when an employee is absent for a prolonged period without explanation or authorisation, suggesting they no longer intend to work.

Adverse action is when an employer treats a worker badly for exercising a workplace right, like firing or demoting them.

Allowances are extra award payments — like tool, travel, first-aid or meal allowances — paid on top of an employee's base rate.

Annual leave is 4 weeks of paid leave per year that accrues progressively for all permanent employees under the NES.

Annual leave loading is an extra payment (usually 17.5%) on top of your base pay when you take annual leave.

An annual shutdown is a temporary close-down period, such as Christmas, when an employer can direct employees to take annual leave.

An annualised salary is a flat yearly salary intended to cover all award entitlements including penalties, loadings, overtime, and allowances.

An award classification is the level or grade assigned to an employee under a Modern Award, determining their minimum pay rate and conditions.

Back pay is the recovery of wages or entitlements an employee was underpaid, usually subject to a six-year time limit.

The base rate of pay is the minimum hourly or weekly rate under an employee's award or agreement, excluding penalties, loadings, allowances, and overtime.

The Better Off Overall Test (BOOT) requires an enterprise agreement to leave each employee better off overall than the relevant modern award.

Carer's leave is paid leave to care for an immediate family or household member who is ill, injured, or facing an unexpected emergency.

Cashing out annual leave is converting some accrued annual leave into a payment instead of taking time off, subject to strict conditions.

Casual conversion is the right for casual workers to request permanent employment after 12 months of regular work.

A casual employee is one with no firm advance commitment to ongoing work, defined by the real substance of the relationship under the Fair Work Act.

Casual loading is the extra 25% on top of the base hourly rate paid to casual employees instead of leave entitlements.

Community service leave covers time off for jury duty (paid, minus jury fees) and voluntary emergency management activities (unpaid) under the NES.

Compassionate leave (bereavement leave) provides 2 days of paid leave per occasion when an immediate family or household member dies or has a life-threatening illness.

Constructive dismissal is when an employee resigns but is forced to do so because of the employer's conduct, and the law treats it as a dismissal.

Consultation obligations are duties under awards and agreements to discuss major workplace changes and redundancies with affected employees before deciding.

Continuous service is the unbroken period you work for one employer that counts towards entitlements like leave, redundancy, and notice.

Deductions from pay are amounts an employer takes out of wages, generally only with written authorisation or where allowed by an award or law.

An employment termination payment is a lump sum paid on termination that receives concessional tax treatment, such as genuine redundancy payments and gratuities.

An enterprise agreement is a deal between an employer and employees setting pay and conditions, approved by the Fair Work Commission.

The Fair Work Commission is Australia's national workplace tribunal that sets minimum wages and resolves disputes.

The Fair Work Information Statement is a document employers must give all new employees before or as soon as practicable after their start date.

The Fair Work Ombudsman is the government agency that enforces workplace laws and helps recover unpaid wages.

Family and domestic violence leave is 10 days of paid leave per year for all employees, including casuals, available from their first day.

A fixed-term contract ends on a set date or event; since 2023 there are limits of generally no more than two years or two consecutive contracts.

Flexible work arrangements are changes to hours, patterns, or location of work that eligible employees can request under the NES.

A full-time employee is an ongoing employee who works an average of 38 ordinary hours per week with all the National Employment Standards entitlements.

General protections stop employers from taking adverse action against workers for exercising workplace rights.

Genuine redundancy is when an employee's position is no longer needed due to operational changes, and the employer has followed consultation and redeployment obligations.

Good faith bargaining is the set of requirements parties must meet under the Fair Work Act when negotiating an enterprise agreement.

A guarantee of annual earnings is a Fair Work Act arrangement under which a modern award does not apply to an employee guaranteed earnings above the high income threshold.

The high income threshold is an earnings cap set by the Fair Work Act that limits who can make an unfair dismissal claim.

An independent contractor runs their own business and provides services to a client, rather than being employed — assessed by the whole of the relationship.

An IFA is a written agreement between an employer and individual employee that varies certain terms of an award or enterprise agreement to suit both parties.

Keeping in touch days are paid days an employee on unpaid parental leave can work to help ease their eventual return, without ending the leave.

Labour hire is where a worker is employed by an agency but placed to work for a host business; 'same job, same pay' orders can now apply.

Leave without pay is an agreed period of unpaid time off work where you keep your job but receive no wages for the absence.

A loaded rate is a single all-in hourly rate that absorbs penalties and loadings, which must still satisfy a better-off-overall check against the award.

Long service leave is paid leave granted to employees who have worked for the same employer for a long period, usually 7-10 years.

Under the NES, maximum weekly hours are 38 for full-time employees, plus reasonable additional hours that an employer can request.

Medical evidence is the proof an employer can require for personal or carer's leave, such as a medical certificate or statutory declaration.

The minimum employment period is the time an employee must work before they can claim unfair dismissal — 6 months, or 12 months for a small business.

The minimum wage is the lowest hourly rate an employer can legally pay an adult employee in Australia.

A Modern Award is a legal document setting minimum pay rates and conditions for employees in a specific industry or occupation.

The NES are 11 minimum workplace entitlements that apply to all employees in the national workplace relations system.

A notice period is the time between being told you're losing your job and your last day of work.

Ordinary hours are an employee's standard working hours, usually up to 38 a week, set by an award, agreement, or contract — distinct from overtime.

Ordinary time earnings (OTE) are the gross amount an employee earns for ordinary hours of work, used to calculate superannuation contributions.

Overtime is hours worked beyond an employee's ordinary hours, paid at penalty rates of 150% (time and a half) or 200% (double time) under most awards.

Parental leave gives eligible employees up to 12 months of unpaid leave, plus access to the government's Paid Parental Leave scheme.

A part-time employee is an ongoing employee who works fewer than full-time hours on a regular basis, with pro-rata leave and entitlements.

Pay secrecy refers to terms that stop employees discussing their pay; since the 2022 reforms employees have a protected right to share or keep pay private.

PAYG withholding is the system where employers deduct income tax from employee wages and send it directly to the ATO on behalf of the employee.

Payment in lieu of notice is when an employer pays out the notice period instead of having the employee work it.

Australian employers must give payslips within 1 day of payday showing gross pay, tax, super, hours, and the pay rate.

Penalty rates are higher pay rates for working outside normal hours — evenings, weekends, and public holidays.

Personal leave covers 10 days of paid sick leave and carer's leave per year for full-time employees under the NES.

Piece rates pay an employee per unit of output rather than per hour, and are permitted under some awards subject to minimum standards.

Portable long service leave lets you build up long service leave across multiple employers in industries like construction, cleaning, and community services.

A probation period is a trial phase at the start of employment, typically 3–6 months, during which an employer assesses a new employee's suitability.

Protected industrial action is lawful action — like a strike — taken during enterprise bargaining that meets the conditions in the Fair Work Act.

Public holiday entitlements give employees the right to be absent on public holidays without loss of pay, or to receive penalty rates if they work.

Redeployment is moving an employee to another suitable role rather than making them redundant, and it affects whether a redundancy is genuine.

Redundancy is when an employer no longer needs a job to be done by anyone, usually due to restructure or business changes.

The return to work guarantee is your right to return to your pre-parental-leave job, or a comparable position, after unpaid parental leave.

The right to disconnect allows employees to refuse work-related contact outside their working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable.

A rostered day off (RDO) is a paid day off you earn by working slightly longer ordinary hours under some Modern Awards or agreements.

Salary sacrifice is an arrangement where an employee gives up part of their pre-tax salary in return for benefits, commonly extra super.

Serious misconduct is behaviour severe enough to justify immediate dismissal without notice, such as theft, fraud, assault, or serious safety breaches.

Sham contracting is when an employer wrongly disguises an employment relationship as independent contracting, which is unlawful under the Fair Work Act.

A shift loading is an extra percentage added to the base rate for working outside standard daytime hours, such as evening, night, or early morning shifts.

A show cause process is when an employer asks an employee to explain why they should not be disciplined or dismissed over alleged conduct or performance issues.

The small business exemption extends the minimum employment period for unfair dismissal claims to 12 months for businesses with fewer than 15 employees.

The small claims procedure is a quicker, lower-cost court process for recovering underpaid wages and entitlements up to a capped amount.

A stand down is when an employer directs employees not to work (and not be paid) due to circumstances outside their control.

A stop bullying order is an order the Fair Work Commission can make to stop workplace bullying from continuing against a worker.

Summary dismissal is termination without notice for serious misconduct, but the employer must still follow a fair process before deciding.

The super guarantee is the minimum percentage of your earnings your employer must pay into your super fund — currently 12%.

Time off in lieu (TOIL) is paid time off taken instead of being paid for overtime, by agreement under many modern awards.

A transfer of business is when a business changes hands and certain employee entitlements and workplace instruments can carry over to the new employer.

Unfair dismissal is when an employee is sacked in a way that is harsh, unjust, or unreasonable under the Fair Work Act.

Unlawful termination is dismissing an employee for a prohibited reason, available mainly to employees not covered by the general protections.

Unpaid carer's leave is 2 days of unpaid leave per occasion to care for family, available when paid leave is used up or to casuals.

Wage theft is the deliberate underpayment or non-payment of employee entitlements, criminalised at the federal level from 1 January 2025.

Workers' compensation is a state-based insurance scheme that covers medical expenses and wage replacement for employees injured or made ill at work.

Workplace bullying is repeated unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker that creates a risk to health and safety.

A workplace determination is an instrument the Fair Work Commission can make to set binding terms when enterprise bargaining cannot be resolved.

A workplace investigation is a structured process an employer uses to look into misconduct allegations or complaints with procedural fairness.

A zombie agreement is an old pre-2010 industrial agreement; most automatically terminated in December 2023, moving employees onto the modern award.