Workplace relations experts back Coalition idea to eliminate 28 days’ notice for terminating flexibility agreements

Workplace relations experts have backed comments by the Coalition that it is considering a policy that would prevent employers or businesses from giving 28 days’ notice to terminate flexibility agreements.

Lawyers have said the provisions are barely used anyway as employers don’t want to put the time and effort into drafting documents only to have them overturned with just a month’s notice.

“Clearly the capacity of a unilateral cancellation on 28 days’ notice is a huge disincentive for anybody wanting to enter into an individual flexibility agreement because there is no certainty that can be provided,” workplace relations spokesman Eric Abetz told The Australian.

Hall & Wilcox partner Alison Baker told SmartCompany this morning it’s a good idea.

“I support those comments. It doesn’t really help employers, because many have their payroll systems all set up – if they terminate agreements, they need to make sure they’re in a position to fall back on the award.”

Middletons partner Alice DeBoos described the current provisions as “silly”.

“I can see where they are coming from. If you want a proper statutory individual agreement then it has to be something like a contract without the ability to terminate it,” she told SmartCompany.

Workplace relations expert Peter Vitale said that while the provisions are set in place to give employers and employees more flexibility, they’re often ignored altogether.

“It makes a lot of employers reluctant to implement these because an employee can simply say they don’t want the arrangement to apply anymore, and the employer may have gone to a significant effort coming to an arrangement about all inclusive pay rates, or other items.”

“It seems to me what they’re really saying is they want to give individual flexibility agreements some genuine currency.”

Workplace relations minister Bill Shorten told the paper he believes there is “plenty of flexibility and win/win available”.

“In the real world you can bargain,” he said. “The Liberal vision of enterprise bargaining is the employer looks at the worker and says, ‘I’m the enterprise and you’re the bargain’.”