The Fair Work Amendment Act 2013 (Cth) was highly effective for both employers and employees as it was able to provide further protections. One of the key changes of the Act was the implementation of anti-bullying provisions, which were able to achieve a just outcome as it allowed the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to resolve the issue and then make a order enforcing the decision. This demonstrated the legal system’s ability to ensure that both employers and employees remained compliant and it also display it’s responsiveness, as the FWC must start to deal with the issue within 14 days of the complain being made. However, the Act is criticized in the article “Business groups raise concerns over new anti-bullying laws” (ABC, 2013), where it highlights that many claims of bullying are low-level, which would effective the FWC’s ability to achieve justice for serious cases of bullying in the workplace. Moreover, the article makes the suggestion that there should be an intermediate level involving human resources in order to efficiently deal with the less serious cases of bullying, thus increasing the effectiveness of the legal system to protect employees and employers. The Act was also highly effective in protecting employees providing flexible work arrangements. The Act allowed …show more content…
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) is the national peak body for all Australian Unions and it advocates both domestically and internationally for the rights of all workers. The ACTU has been highly effective in promoting the rights of workers, especially throughout the 2007 Federal election, where it actively campaigned against Work Choices, focusing on it’s detrimental effects on employees. Their campaigns were able to achieve justice for both employers and employees as the subsequent Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) attempted to restore the balance between the rights of both parties. The ACTU also campaigns to prevent a roll back of the Act and further promotion of workers’ rights, evident in the article “No rollback of Fair Work says Unions” (AFR, 2011), as it highlights the need for the current legislation to remain in place in order for a just outcome to be achieved. Therefore, Trade Unions have been a highly effective mechanism in protecting the rights of employees and to some extent employers through promoting a balance in Workplace Relations legislation.
In closing, the legal system has been highly effective in protecting the rights of employers and employees through the legislative framework, which aims to achieve a balanced and just outcome for both parties. The various legal and non-legal mechanisms in place seek to peacefully