Minimum conditions of employment – state employers

Farm Employees’ Award: From 1 July 2024, the WA Farm Employees’ Award applies to the WA dairy industry. It sets the state minimum wage for all classifications and operates alongside the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act. Key changes include:

• new provisions for part-time hours,
• 17.5% annual leave loading, and
• medical certificate requirements for personal leave.

Contract templates have been updated to reflect these changes.

 

Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993: The WA Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993 sets the minimum entitlements for all employees of non-national system employers. f an award, workplace agreement, or contract provides conditions less favourable than these minimums, the Act overrides them, and the minimum standards apply instead. For more information WA Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 1993.

 

Minimum wage / maximum hours of work

In Western Australia, pay rates depend on your business structure:

• Companies or trusts with a company as trustee follow federal pay rates.
• Sole traders, partnerships, or trusts with an individual as trustee follow WA state laws.

For dairy farmers, the Farm Employees’ Award and the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act set:

• a minimum adult rate of pay per week,
• junior, trainee, and apprentice rates, and
• a casual loading of 25% (from 31 January 2025), compensating for annual leave, sick leave, and public holidays.

Current pay rates can be found at Details of the Farm Employee Award can be found at Minimum pay rates for award free employees | Western Australian Government. Details of the Farm Employee Award can be found at Farm Employees Award summary.

 

No employee, whether covered by an award or agreement, can be required or requested to work more than 38 hours per week, plus reasonable additional hours.

When determining whether additional hours are reasonable, the following factors must be considered:

• any work health and safety risks from working the extra hours;
• the employee’s personal circumstances, including family or caring responsibilities;
• the business’s operational needs;
• the notice given by the employer about the additional hours;
• any notice from the employee of their intention to refuse the additional hours;
• whether the hours fall on a public holiday; and
• the employee’s recent work over the last four weeks.

No overtime penalties apply for reasonable additional hours — these are paid at the ordinary hourly rate.

 

Public holidays

Full time and part time employees are entitled to be absent from work on a public holiday and be paid as if they had worked on that day.

As of 31 January 2025 an employer can request an employee to work on a public holiday if the request is reasonable. What is reasonable depends upon a number of factors.

There is no provision for penalty rates either in the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act or the Farm Employees’ Award if the employee is required to work on the public holiday.

For more information on public holidays and the determining is a request is reasonable visit Public holiday minimum conditions.

 

Annual leave

Under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act and the Farm Employees’ Award, all employees (except casuals) accrue annual leave based on the hours they ordinarily work over a four-week period, up to 152 hours per year.

• Full-time employees accrue four weeks of leave (38 hours per week).
• Part-time employees accrue leave on a pro rata basis.
• If hours vary, leave is averaged over the previous 52 weeks.
• Unpaid leave (e.g. parental leave) does not count toward accrual.
• Casual employees are not entitled to annual leave, as their casual loading compensates for this.
• Leave accrues weekly and carries forward if unused.
• Annual leave may be taken in advance with employer agreement, though this is not mandatory.

 

Payment for annual leave: Annual leave is paid at the employee’s ordinary rate of pay at the time the leave is taken, excluding overtime, penalties, and allowances.
It is paid on the usual pay day, unless the employee requests in writing to be paid in advance, in which case the employer must agree.

All accrued annual leave must be paid out on termination, though special rules apply when an employee is dismissed for serious misconduct. Employers should seek legal advice before taking such action.

Time for taking annual leave: Annual leave should be taken at a time agreed to between the employer and the employee. However, the act says that employers cannot refuse to allow employees to take annual leave which has accrued for more than 12 months at any time suitable to the employee provided the employee gives the employer at least two weeks’ notice.

Cashing out of annual leave: Employees may cash out annual leave in limited circumstances after completing at least one year of employment. They can cash out up to 50% of the leave accrued in that year, but:

• the arrangement must be voluntary and in writing;
• employers cannot require or pressure employees to cash out leave; and
• it cannot be a condition of employment.

Signed records of any cashing-out agreement must be kept for seven years.

Annual leave loading: Annual leave loading is provided under the Farm Employees’ Award, not the WA Minimum Conditions of Employment Act. The award entitles employees to a 17.5% leave loading on annual leave taken, but not on leave paid out upon termination.

 

Personal leave

Under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act and the Farm Employees’ Award, sick and carer’s leave were replaced by personal leave in June 2022.

• Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid personal leave equal to their ordinary hours over a two-week period (up to 76 hours) for each year of service.
• Leave accrues weekly and carries over from year to year.
• There is no limit on the amount of accrued leave that can be used for caring purposes.
• Paid personal leave can be taken if an employee:
  • is unfit for work due to illness or injury; or
  • needs to care for or support a family or household member due to illness, injury, or an unexpected emergency.

If no paid leave is available, permanent employees may take up to two days of unpaid personal leave per occasion, and casual employees are entitled to two days unpaid leave for caring purposes.

A family or household member includes a spouse or de facto partner, child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, step-parent, grandparent, sibling, or any household member.

 

Unpaid personal leave for caring purposes

Member of the employee’s family or household’ is defined as follows:

• the employee’s spouse or de facto partner;
• a child, step-child or grandchild of the employee;
• a parent, step-parent or grandparent of the employee;
• a sibling of the employee;
• a member of the employee’s household

Permanent employees, are entitled to unpaid personal leave for caring purposes if they do not have accrued paid personal leave for each occasion when a member of the employee’s family or household requires care or support because of:

• a personal illness or injury affecting the member; or
• an unexpected emergency affecting the member.

Unpaid personal leave may be taken as a single continuous period of up to two days, or any separate periods to which the employee and their employer agree.

Casual employees can access up to two days unpaid personal leave per occasion for caring purposes.

Evidence requirements: Employees taking paid or unpaid carer’s leave must provide reasonable evidence of the need for the leave. Under the Farm Employees’ Award, medical certificates or statutory declarations are not required for absences due to personal illness or injury of two days or less, provided the employee has had no more than two such absences in a year.

Bereavement leave

Under the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act and the Farm Employees’ Award, all employees, including casuals, are entitled to up to two days of paid bereavement leave following the death of a family or household member. The two days do not need to be consecutive.

Evidence requirements:   If requested, employees taking bereavement leave must provide reasonable evidence of the death and their relationship to the deceased.

Family and Domestic Violence Leave

As of 9 September 2024, the federal Family and Domestic Violence Leave laws apply to state employers in WA, providing 10 days of paid leave per 12-month period. For more information, see the National Employment Standards.

Flexible working arrangements

As of 31 January 2025, employees with more than 12 months of service may request flexible working arrangements in specific circumstances, such as returning from parental leave or experiencing family or domestic violence.

For more information visit Flexible working arrangement requests.

 

Parental leave

The National Employment Standards on parental leave apply to all employers in Australia, including non-national system employers in Western Australia. These laws are complex and include strict documentation requirements. Employers should seek legal or industry advice when an employee becomes eligible for parental leave.

For more information, see the National Employment Standards.

 

Employing children – National and non-national system employers

In Western Australia, the employment of children is governed by the Children and Community Services Act 2004 and the School Education Act 1999. It is an offence to employ children under 15 years of age on a farm, except in a family business operated by the child’s parents or relatives. Children over 15 may work outside school hours, but employing a school-aged child (up to 17 years) during school hours is an offence.

 

Long service leave – National and non-national system employers

Long service leave recognises an employee’s extended service with their employer. In Western Australia, long service leave laws apply to all employers, whether award or non-award. Entitlements also transfer to a new employer if a business is sold or taken over and the employee continues their employment.

Continuous service: Long service leave is based on an employee’s years of continuous service. Continuous service means employment that is not interrupted, although some absences do not break it. These include:
• approved leave such as annual, long service, sick leave, public holidays, or defence service;
• termination followed by re-employment within two months (or six months if due to lack of work), though the break period doesn’t count toward service;
• any other authorised absence, which also doesn’t count toward total service; and
• transfer of employment when a business is sold or taken over.

Amount of long service leave entitlement:  All employees, including casual and seasonal workers, are entitled to 8⅔ weeks of paid long service leave after 10 years of continuous service, and an additional 4⅓ weeks for every subsequent five years.

Termination of employment and long service leave: Employees are entitled to a pro rata payment of long service leave for all completed and part years of service if their employment ends after seven years of continuous service, or upon death, unless dismissed for serious misconduct.

If an employee dies, their personal representative is entitled to the accrued payment. However, employees dismissed for serious misconduct lose any long service leave entitlement, even after 10 years of service. Employers should seek legal advice before proceeding with a dismissal for serious misconduct.

Payment for long service leave: Long service leave is paid at the employee’s ordinary rate of pay at the time the leave is taken, excluding overtime, penalties, allowances, and shift premiums. Bonuses are included, averaged over the previous 12 months.

For part-time or casual employees whose hours vary, payment is based on their average weekly hours worked over the entire period of employment.

When payment for long service leave is to be made: Under the Long Service Leave Act, payment for long service leave must be made on the ordinary pay days unless the employee requests in writing to be paid before the leave begins, in which case the employer must comply.

If the leave is postponed at the employee’s request, payment is made at the rate that applied when the leave originally fell due, unless both parties agree otherwise.

Board and lodging: Payment for long service leave includes the value of any board or lodging provided to the employee if the board and lodging is not provided and taken during the period of the leave.

Cashing out of long service leave: Cashing out of long service leave is permissible provided any agreement between the employer and the employee is recorded in writing.

Taking long service leave: Employees may take long service leave for any period, including single days, at half pay or double pay, or choose to cash it out if both parties agree in writing.

If long service leave has been due for more than 12 months and no agreement is reached, the employee may choose when to take the leave by giving at least two weeks’ notice to the employer.

Public holidays: If a public holiday falls during the long service leave and the employee would have been entitled to that holiday, the period of leave is increased by one day. This does not apply to long service leave paid out on termination of employment.

Prohibition on employment during long service leave: Employees are not allowed to undertake paid work while on long service leave. Employers may withhold or recover payments if this occurs. This restriction does not apply to long service leave paid out on termination. Employers should seek legal advice if this situation arises.

Record keeping: Employers must keep accurate records to calculate long service leave entitlements and payments, especially for employees with variable hours so averages can be determined. Records of any agreement to cash out long service leave must also be kept. These records must be retained during employment and for seven years after termination and made available for inspection by the employee, their representative, or an industrial inspector. Penalties apply for non-compliance.

 

Termination of employment – Non-national System Employees

Employers should follow fair procedures when terminating employees, as replacing staff is costly and defending unfair or unlawful dismissal claims can be time-consuming and expensive. See more information including summary dismissal and notice of termination visit Termination | The People in Dairy.

Statement of employment: When terminating employment, all employers must provide employees upon request with a written statement specifying the period of employment and the classification or type of work performed by the employee.

Job search entitlement: Award-free employees who receive notice of termination are entitled to one day off per week to look for new employment. If they take more than one day off during the notice period, the employer may request a statutory declaration confirming attendance at a job interview before paying for the additional day.

Records: Termination records must state whether the employment ended by consent, with notice, without notice, or in another manner, and include the name of the person who terminated the employment.

Unfair dismissal: All non-national system employers in WA are covered by state unfair dismissal laws. Claims are typically based on allegations that the dismissal process was harsh, oppressive, or unfair. In Western Australia, such claims are lodged with the WA Industrial Relations Commission.

Who can make an unfair dismissal claim? Most employees can lodge an unfair dismissal claim; however, those not covered by an award cannot do so if their annual earnings exceed the high-income threshold. Employees dismissed during probation may also claim unfair dismissal, though the Commission will consider the probation period and the understanding that suitability for the role was being assessed.

Employees must lodge an unfair dismissal claim with the WA Industrial Relations Commission within 28 days of their dismissal, although extensions may be granted in certain circumstances. Employers then have 21 days to respond. More information about the unfair dismissal claims process can be found at Unfair dismissal applications » Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission.

Redundancy – Non-national System Employees

A job is considered redundant when the employer determines that it is no longer required or that fewer employees are needed. In farming, redundancies often occur due to retirement, cost-cutting, or the introduction of new machinery or technology. For dairy farmers in Western Australia, redundancy provisions are set out in the Redundancy General Order. Because redundancy laws are complex, employers should seek legal advice or contact their state farming organisation before proceeding.

Redundancy and notice: The same notice periods apply to redundancies as to other terminations. Employees who resign during the notice period remain entitled to severance pay but are not owed payment in lieu of notice. They are also entitled to up to eight hours of paid leave to attend job interviews for alternative employment.

Severance pay: The Redundancy General Order sets out the required severance pay amounts for workplaces with 15 or more employees, including casual and part-time staff. A week’s pay excludes overtime, penalty rates, bonuses and allowances, and severance payments cannot exceed the amount the employee would have earned up to their normal retirement date.

Continuous service: Continuous service means uninterrupted employment with the same employer. The following do not break continuity for severance purposes: termination or interruption intended to avoid redundancy obligations, absences on approved leave, and absences for reasonable cause (which the employee must prove). Service also continues where an employee remains employed by a new employer after a business transfer that includes long service leave entitlements. Unpaid leave does not break service but is not counted toward years of service (e.g. parental leave).

Exclusions from severance pay requirement: The following employees are not entitled to severance pay: those dismissed for serious misconduct, employees with less than one year of service, probationary employees, apprentices or trainees, employees hired for a fixed term or specific task, and casual employees.

Alternative employment: Employers who find alternative employment for employees can make an application to the WA Industrial Relations Commission to have the amount of the severance payment varied.

Notification and consultation requirements: Employers must notify unions and employees of proposed redundancies, explain the reasons, and discuss ways to avoid or reduce their impact. They are also required to notify Centrelink of the redundancies.

Incapacity to pay: Employers are able to make an application to the WA Industrial Relations Commission for the amount of severance pay to be reduced due to incapacity to pay.

For more information about Redundancy visit Western Australian Government Redundancy.

Residential tenancies laws

Western Australian residential tenancy laws may apply to farm accommodation that is not part of a broader property lease. These laws set out notice periods, bond limits, rent rules, and requirements for repairs, inspections, and agreements, with penalties for breaches.

However, these notice periods, typically 60 days, can create issues when housing is part of an employee’s remuneration and the worker leaves or is dismissed. In such cases, employers can apply to the tenancy tribunal for early termination on hardship grounds. These laws generally do not apply where no rent is paid, but farmers should note that accommodation included in a workplace agreement may still be considered under the No Disadvantage Test (for non-national system employers) or the Better Off Overall Test (for national system employers).

Visit the Accommodation | The People in Dairy page for more information.

Records – Non-national system employers

Western Australian industrial laws require all employers to keep accurate employment records for each employee, with penalties applying for non-compliance. Records must be in English, maintained separately for each employee, and available for inspection by the employee, their representative, or an industrial inspector. Any errors must be corrected promptly with a clear notation of the change.

Retention periods:

• Long service leave records must be kept for the entire employment period and seven years after termination.
• All other employment records must be kept for seven years after the last entry.

Required records include:

• Employee’s name, and date of birth if under 21.
• Employer’s name and ABN.
• Applicable industrial instrument (e.g. award – note dairy industry is award-free in WA for non-national system employers).
• Employment start date.
• For each workday: start and finish times, paid periods, and breaks.
• For each pay period: employment type (full-time, part-time, casual), classification, gross and net pay, and all deductions with reasons.
• Any bonuses, penalties, loadings, or allowances.
• All leave taken (paid, partly paid, or unpaid).
• Details required to calculate long service leave.

Superannuation records:

• Contribution amount, period, and payment date.
• Fund name, calculation details, and date of fund choice.

Termination records:

• Whether termination was by consent, notice, without notice, or otherwise.
• Name of the person who terminated the employment.

Failure to maintain or retain these records can result in significant penalties under WA industrial law.

 

Pay slips: Since 2022, all WA state system employers must give employees a pay slip within one working day of payment, either in hard copy or electronically. Each pay slip must include:

• Employer’s name and ABN (if any).
• Employee’s name.
• Pay period and payment date.
• Gross and net pay, and any tax withheld.
• Details of any bonuses, loadings, penalties, allowances, or incentive payments.
• Details of any deductions, including:
• The person for whom the deduction was made.
• The fund or account name/number (if applicable).
• The purpose of the deduction.
• For employees paid hourly: hourly rate, hours worked, and total payment.
• For employees paid weekly or annually: the current rate of pay.
• Superannuation details:
• Each contribution made (or payable) during the pay period.
• The fund name (and number, if applicable) to which contributions were made.

Failure to issue compliant pay slips may result in penalties under WA industrial law.

 

Penalties: Penalties apply for breaching pay slip requirements, including:

• Not providing a pay slip within one working day of payment;
• Failing to include all required information; or
• Issuing a pay slip that is false or misleading.

Employers should use a compliant pay slip template to meet these legal obligations. A sample payslip which complies with these requirements is available here: pay slip.

 

New Employee Protections Laws 2022

In 2022 new provisions have been introduced to increase employee protections and combat wage theft. More information is available here 2022 changes to state employment laws in Western Australia.