Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

FAIR WORK ACT 2009 - SECT 333E

  (1)   A person contravenes this subsection if:

  (a)   the person enters into a contract of employment with an employee; and

  (b)   the contract includes a term that provides the contract will terminate at the end of an identifiable period (whether or not the contract also includes other terms that provide for circumstances in which it may be terminated before the end of that period); and

  (c)   the employee is not a casual employee of the employer for whom the period referred to in paragraph   (b) is identified by reference to the completion of the shift of work to which the contract relates; and

  (d)   subsection   (2), (3) or (4) applies.

Note 1:   This subsection is a civil remedy provision (see Part   4 - 1).

Note 2:   A contract referred to in this subsection includes (and is not limited to) a contract of employment for a specified period of time, for a specified task or for the duration of a specified season.

Employment for more than 2 years

  (2)   This subsection applies if the identifiable period is greater than 2 years.

Renewable contracts

  (3)   This subsection applies if:

  (a)   the sum of the identifiable period and any other period for which the contract may be extended or renewed is greater than 2 years; or

  (b)   the contract provides for an option or right to extend or renew the contract more than once.

Consecutive contracts

  (4)   This subsection applies if the contract comes into effect after another contract (the previous contract ) of employment between the person and the employee in circumstances referred to in subsection   (5).

  (5)   The circumstances for the purposes of subsection   (4) are:

  (a)   the previous contract included a term that provided that the contract would terminate at the end of an identifiable period (whether or not the contract also includes other terms that provide for circumstances in which it may be terminated before the end of that period); and

  (b)   the previous contract was for the employee to perform the same, or substantially similar, work for the person as the employee is required to perform under the contract referred to in paragraph   (1)(a) (the current contract ); and

  (c)   there is substantial continuity of the employment relationship between the person and employee during the period between the previous contract terminating and the current contract coming into effect; and

  (d)   any of the following apply:

  (i)   the sum of the period for which the previous contract was in effect and the identifiable period referred to in paragraph   (1)(b) for the current contract is greater than 2 years;

  (ii)   the current contract contains an option for renewal or extension;

  (iia)   the previous contract contained an option for extension that has been exercised;

  (iii)   the previous contract came into effect after another contract (the initial contract ) that satisfies the requirements of paragraphs   (a) and (b) of this subsection and there was substantial continuity of the employment relationship between the person and the employee during the period between the initial contract terminating and the previous contract coming into effect.