OHS Compliance Information-Operating a Quad Bike
Attempting to comply with various Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) information can often be a confusing task for the employer, as the issue may often have a variety of solutions. Trying to select the most appropriate solution can be difficult as in many instances it is a combination of approaches that may result in the best solution.
Download the full document below:
 | SWMS & OHS Compliance (b) |
Safety Alert - Low flying aircraft
A spate of serious incidents in Victoria involving crop dusting aircraft and overhead power lines, as well as the likely significant increase in locust control activities in the coming months, has prompted Energy Safe Victoria to issue a safety warning for the operation of low flying aircraft.
Click here to download a copy of the safety alert (511KB).Industrial Association Issues
Public Holidays
Queen's Birthday | Monday,11 June 2012 |
| Melbourne Cup | Tuesday,6 November 2012 |
| Christmas Day | Tuesday,25 December 2012 |
| Boxing Day | Wednesday,26 December 2012 |
| New Year's Day | Tuesday, 1 January 2013 |
| *Australia Day | Saturday, 26 January2013 |
| *day in lieu | Monday, 28 January 2013 |
| Labour Day | Monday, 11 March 2013 |
| Good Friday | Friday, 29 March 2013 |
| Saturday before Easter Sunday | Saturday, 30 March 2013 |
| Easter Monday | Monday, 1 April 2013 |
| ANZAC Day | Thursday, 25 April 2013 |
| Queen's Birthday | Monday, 10 June 2013 |
| Melbourne Cup Day | Tuesday, 5 November 2013 |
| Christmas Day | Wednesday, 25 December 2013 |
| Boxing Day | Thursday, 26 December 2013 |
If you are not sure if all of these holidays apply to your employees, please call the Workplace Relations Department on 1300 882 833.
Independent Contractors
Farmers often engage contractors on the farm to help them out in busy times or to do jobs they are unable to do. Many farmers believe that hiring someone as a contractor means that they don't have to worry about the various laws which apply to employment. This is not always the case.
To find out if your contractor is really an employee, click here to access the NFF Independent Contractors Kit.
Long Service Leave
At first glance, the long service leave legislation appears to be clear-cut with employees gaining access to their entitlements earlier at seven years (paid out pro-rata upon termination or resignation) and able to take leave, after 10 years rather than 15 years. However, it's not all bad news for employers with new phasing-in arrangements lessening the burden.
For employees who commenced employment before 1 January 2006, in order to work out when the employee is entitled to his or her 10 year long service leave entitlement, the employee's employment period prior to 1 January 2006 is to be reduced by a third. All work after 1 January 2006 is counted with no reductions.
In simple terms, this means that employees with less than 15 years service on 1 January 2006 will only be able to take part of their entitlement before 15 years service. To determine when such employees can take their first two months leave, only two-thirds of their service prior to 2006 is counted, however, they will be entitled to the remaining one month's leave once they reach 15 years of service, for example: An employee with 10 years service on 1 January 2006 will be entitled to access two months long service leave after 13 1/3 year mark and a further one month at 15 years.
Employees are now entitled to pro rata long service leave after seven years service regardless of whether the employee has resigned or has been terminated by the employer. This applies even if the employee has been terminated for serious misconduct. The long service leave entitlement will be paid at the rate of one week for each 60 weeks of continuous employment. The simplest way to calculate this is to convert the total length of service into weeks and divide by 60. The entitlement is always paid at the employee's current rate of pay.
Previously long service leave entitlement was determined on the basis of ‘continuity of employment' for full and part time employees. Amendments to the legislation now state that a casual or seasonal casual will be entitled to long service leave if they satisfy ‘continuity of employment' meaning that they have less than three months absence between each instance of employment; or there is an absence of more than three months but was due to the terms of engagement or due to seasonal nature of the employee's employment. Please speak to the VFF Workplace Relations Department if you have any queries.
The VFF Workplace Relations Department can be contacted for further information on 1300 882 833.
