Working in Australia — How do the working conditions compare?
Australia is renowned for its vast landscapes and its serene and sunny outdoor lifestyle — combine a good job and you have a very balanced lifestyle. Or not! Not a few years have passed since the working conditions of Australian migrants became inhumane. Since Australia was one of the first countries to recover from the recession, how do the working conditions compare to if you were planning to work in Australia?
Are things so relaxed in the Australian workplace that things happen, or is there an appropriate work structure to protect the workforce in all situations? Australia is a modern country with modern labor laws. Taking into account past experiences, labor laws are continuously reviewed and updated to include the protection of skilled migrant workers. Working conditions are now considered to be much better than in many other industrialized countries.
Workers in Australia can expect normal working hours of around 35–40 hours per week. Holiday entitlements approx 4–6 weeks with the option of 10 days of paid vacation to interrupt illness and career (very similar to holiday entitlements in the UK). Employers are legally required to pay 9% of gross salary to a pension fund.
So if you are interested in working in Australia, how would you compare the working conditions?
Australian employers follow the National Employment Standards Guidelines (NES), which establish minimum working conditions for all workers. This includes topics such as maximum weekly working hours, annual leave, public holidays, remuneration for termination and dismissal, flexible working conditions and parental leave. So far so good! Convince yourself of working conditions in Australia (under the Fair Work Act 2009) on the Australian Fair Work website.
During natural disasters or emergencies, SEN provides guidance when employees are unable to work or are alerted by their employers — which can mean unpaid time. Contracts that do not take into account the rights of employers fall under the State Council of the SEN, which helps determine appropriate responses and general obligations to care for workers.
As you can see by comparing working conditions to the UK, Australia is unique in terms of employee experience and employer obligations in that it is very rare, if ever, to have an emergency in the UK requiring job closure or unpaid time.
While the extractive and extractive industries are booming, it should be noted that other sectors are not so bad. The service sector currently accounts for 75% of employment, industry 21% and agriculture more than 3.5%.
If working in Australia is still an unfulfilled dream because you haven’t found a job, maybe we can help.
JobContinental has partnered with an Australian recruitment agency that has worked hard to win a number of top jobs. They have thousands of jobs and also provide government sponsored immigration officers to handle the visa process for successful applicants. Test us to see if we can match your skills to your job. I hope my overview of working in Australia — how the working conditions comparison is useful.