PROPOSED CHANGES :The 30 Day Rule

When a new Employee starts work they are usually offered an Individual Employment Agreement [IEA]. If the workplace is covered by a Collective Employment Agreement [CEA] then the new Employee is to be covered by the same terms and conditions in the CEA for the first 30 days they are employed.

This means their IEA is the same as the CEA

After 30 days the Employee can decide to join the Union and continue to be covered by the CEA or remain on the IEA.

The Proposed Changes

The Employment Relations Amendment Act 2025 is proposing to remove this rule so that the IEA can have different terms and conditions in it compared to the CEA

The removal of the “30-day” rule is to support an expansion of 90-day trials at the start of employment.

The Employer must give a copy of any CEA’s that an employee may be covered by and told of any Unions that may be active in their workplace. This is so the Employee can be fully informed before deciding what employment agreement they want to be on.

Impact

With the removal of this rule the Employer will be able to include clauses not usually found in a CEA such as 90 day trial period.

When the 90 day trial period was introduced the Government said that Employees and Employers were not obligated to include this clause in the agreements and could negotiate to either not have any trial period, or to have a shorter trial period, less than 90 days.

Even though 90 day trial periods are not compulsory for new Employees, in reality Individual Employment Agreements usually include this clause without any challenge due to the power imbalance between Employees and Employers.

Advice

New Employees can join a Union as soon as they have accepted an offer of work. They do not have to wait 30 days to join a Union

This change may not seem like a big deal,as the Employer is still likely to offer similar terms and conditions as in a CEA however it gives Employers the power to introduce terms and conditions that may be oppressive to the Employee such as restraints and 90 day trial periods.

Currently the 30 day rule places restrictions on the Employer as to how far they can go in what they can demand in an IEA.

A new Employee should ask to see any available CEA’s and talk to the Union if they have questions. It is important for a new Employee to be fully informed and take advice before agreeing to and signing any written agreement as it will be legally binding.

Disclaimer: these are opinions and views of NUPE and should not be substituted for legal advice. If this article has raised any questions or concerns please contact us directly

Public submissions are now being called for the Employment Relations Amendment Bill 2025

The closing date for submissions is 2.00pm on Wednesday, 13 August 2025