The 11 National Employment Standards: a plain-English walkthrough

What the NES is and who it covers

The National Employment Standards (NES) are 11 minimum entitlements. These are detailed in Part 2-2 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth). They establish a baseline of conditions for employment across Australia.

The NES applies to all employees within the national workplace relations system. This means the standards are relevant to a broad range of workplaces and employment situations.

Casual employees are also covered by the NES, although their entitlements are more limited. They are principally entitled to unpaid leave, the right to request casual conversion, paid family and domestic violence leave, and the Casual Employment Information Statement. Importantly, even for casuals, the NES cannot be overridden by agreements or contracts that offer less favourable terms.

Hours of work and flexibility

The National Employment Standards include provisions relating to hours of work. Full-time employees are generally limited to a maximum of 38 hours per week, plus reasonable additional hours.

Employees with 12 months of continuous service may request flexible working arrangements. These arrangements can include changes to start and finish times, working patterns, or locations. From 6 June 2023, the Fair Work Commission has the power to resolve disputes about these flexible working arrangement requests. right to disconnect policy builder

A right to disconnect has been introduced. This commenced on 26 August 2024 for employers who are not small businesses, and 26 August 2025 for small businesses.

Leave entitlements under the NES

The National Employment Standards (NES) mandate several types of leave entitlements for employees. Annual leave provides for 4 weeks of paid leave each year, with an additional week available to some shift workers. Personal/carer’s leave allows for 10 days of paid leave per year, which accrues progressively. Compassionate leave provides 2 days per permissible occasion, with permanent employees receiving paid leave and casuals receiving unpaid leave.

Further leave entitlements include paid family and domestic violence leave, which is available to all employees (full-time, part-time and casual) at 10 days per 12-month period. The availability date for small businesses was 1 August 2023, while other employers had access from 1 February 2023. Parental leave is available up to 12 months unpaid, with a right to request a further 12 months.

Community service leave is unpaid for emergency activities, but jury duty is paid for up to 10 days. Long service leave entitlements are governed by state and territory legislation.

Public holidays, termination and information statements

Permanent employees are entitled to a paid day off on a public holiday, unless they are reasonably requested to work. This entitlement is outlined in the Fair Work Act.

When an employee’s employment ends, the notice period required from the employer depends on the employee’s length of service and age, with a maximum of five weeks’ notice. Employees may also be eligible for redundancy pay, which can be up to 16 weeks based on length of service. However, employers who are considered small businesses – those with fewer than 15 employees – are generally exempt from providing redundancy pay.

New employees must receive a Fair Work Information Statement before, or as soon as practicable after, commencing employment. If the employee is a casual, they must receive a Casual Employment Information Statement instead.