You are entitled to a safe workplace where you are treated with respect and your work rights are protected. When your employer takes away your work rights, they have more than likely breached the Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA) and often also the Health and Safety Act 2011 (HSA). These Acts protect you. When employers fail to comply with these Acts, they also undermine Australian Government policies to help Australians find and keep employment and work in safe, fair and productive workplaces. Note also, that the Australian Government contributes substantially to the International Labour Organization (ILO) to “set labour standards, develop policies and devise programmes promoting decent work for all women and men.”

 

Seeking work rights can be exhausting and it is no mean feat when you try to hold your employer accountable for taking away your work rights when your employer has more legal, HR and financial resources available. ​If you work in the public sector you are well aware that the liability for your employer contravening workplace laws is part of the operations or HR/staffing budget and therefore your employer is not required to justify any expenditure associated with breaking workplace laws. As the liability for contraventions is not transparent you become concerned that your employer is well equipped to fight you even if this increases taxpayer liabilities and leads to wastage of public funds while also undermining government policies.

 

Your belief that a `fair go' and `natural justice' are integral in civil societies will be challenged. Justice will seem elusive and you will want to give up. It may be likely that your request to seek and protect your work rights is being ignored by the very people at your workplace who are supposed to support you in accordance with the FWA and the HSA. The Fair Work Commission, the Courts and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal offer you options to be heard but you are uncertain what steps you should be taking and when. Your perseverance to seek your work rights will depend on what you know about the processes that you need to follow, the support you may or may not receive from your HR department  and union and how you get there without further compromising your health and well being.  

 

Work Rights Matter is a social enterprise which intends to tackle a social problem by empowering workers whose lives are disrupted through bullying, unfair work practices and unfair dismissals.  It offers a non-legal information, mentoring and support service to workers based on real life experiences. Through advocacy and crowd funding, Work Rights Matter also aims to raise greater awareness of the issues faced by workers and the impact this has in creating taxpayer liability. Think of Work Rights Matter as the reinforcement workers may require to combat corrupt work practices in their workplaces while also reducing taxpayer liabilities.