Work & Employment

Bullying at work is not part of the job. Your employer has a legal duty to provide a safe workplace – including protection from bullying and harassment.

Workplace bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker that creates a risk to their health and safety. This can include put-downs, being singled out, threats, unfair workloads, or being excluded. A one-off incident is not legally considered bullying, but may still be misconduct or harassment.

• Report it internally: Tell a manager or HR. Your employer must take action.
• Fair Work Commission: If the bullying is ongoing, you can apply for a stop bullying order. The Fair Work Commission must start dealing with the application within 14 days.
• WorkSafe Victoria: If bullying is creating a serious risk to your health or safety, WorkSafe can investigate.

Get advice early – the longer bullying continues, the harder it can be to deal with.

Sexual harassment is against the law.

It is any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, including comments, messages, touching, or requests that a reasonable person would find offensive, humiliating, or intimidating. It can happen once and still be unlawful.

• Your employer must prevent it: Employers now have a positive legal duty to take reasonable steps to eliminate sexual harassment before it happens, not just respond after the fact.
• You can make a complaint: Internally to your employer, or externally to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC) or the Australian Human Rights Commission.
• VLA specialist service: Victoria Legal Aid has a free specialist sexual harassment and discrimination legal service.

You do not need to prove it happened repeatedly. A single incident is enough.

Get advice before making a formal complaint – there are time limits that apply depending on which pathway you use.

All employees in Australia are entitled to at least the minimum wage.

Most jobs are covered by a modern award that sets the minimum pay rate, penalty rates for weekends and public holidays, and other conditions for that industry.

• Minimum wage: Your employer cannot pay you less than the legal minimum. Rates are set by the Fair Work Commission and updated each year. Check your correct rate at fairwork.gov.au.
• Superannuation: All employees aged over 18 are entitled to superannuation regardless of how many hours they work. Employees aged under 18 years are only entitled to superannuation if they work more than 30 hours in a week.
• Payslips: You must receive a payslip within one working day of being paid, every time. It must show your pay rate, hours worked, tax withheld, and super paid. Not receiving payslips is a legal breach by your employer.
• Wage theft: Deliberately underpaying employees is a criminal offence in Victoria under the Wage Theft Act 2020 (Vic). If you think you are being underpaid, get advice.
• Unpaid trial work: An employer generally cannot ask you to work a full trial shift without pay. Short demonstrations of skills may be lawful in some circumstances, but working a full shift ‘on trial’ is usually wage theft.

Whether you are casual or permanent changes your pay and entitlements.

• Casual workers get a higher hourly rate (casual loading – usually 25%) because it replaces paid sick leave, annual leave, and guaranteed hours. Shifts can change or be cancelled.
• Permanent workers (full-time or part-time) get paid sick leave, annual leave, and more job security, but a lower base hourly rate.
• Your employment type must be clear from your contract and payslip. If you are unsure what you are, ask or get advice.
• Casual conversion: If you have been working regular casual shifts for 6 months (12 months if it’s a small business) with the same employer, you may have the right to request conversion to permanent employment.
• Sham contracting: If your employer calls you an ‘independent contractor’ but controls your work like an employee, this may be unlawful. Get advice if this applies to you.

Unfair dismissal is when you are fired in a way that is harsh, unjust, or unreasonable.

You should be told the reason, given a chance to respond, and the decision should be fair.

• 21 calendar days – strict deadline: You must lodge an unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission within 21 calendar days of being dismissed. Do not wait.
• Minimum employment period: You must have worked for your employer for at least 6 months (or 12 months for small businesses with fewer than 15 employees) to access unfair dismissal protections.
• Casual workers can access unfair dismissal if they have been employed on a regular and systematic basis and had a reasonable expectation of continuing employment.
• General protections: Even if unfair dismissal does not apply, you may be protected if you were dismissed for an unlawful reason – such as exercising a workplace right, taking leave, or because of discrimination. Also a 21-day deadline.

Get advice immediately – the 21-day deadline is the same whether you know about it or not.

Young Workers Centre: Free legal advice and representation for workers under 30 – call 1800 714 754 | youngworkers.org.au

JobWatch: Free confidential phone advice for all Victorian workers

Regional (Barwon) call 1800 331 617 or visit jobwatch.org.au

Metro (Melbourne) call (03) 9662 1933 or visit jobwatch.org.au

Fair Work Ombudsman: Check your pay rates, entitlements and lodge complaints

Call 13 13 94 or visit fairwork.gov.au

Fair Work Commission: Lodge unfair dismissal and stop bullying applications

Call 1300 799 675 or visit fwc.gov.au

Barwon Community Legal Service: Free legal advice

Call 1300 430 599 or visit barwoncommunitylegal.org.au