The Bill will become law on 1 August 2000, and will repeal the Employment Contracts Act 1991 from that date. All employers need to be aware of the effects the new law will have on the operation of their business. This is the centrepiece of the legislation. The Bill gives the Minister the power to appoint a committee for the purpose of recommending one or more codes of good faith. It is expected that these codes will provide more specific guidance.
Parties can also draft their own code of good faith at the commencement of the bargaining process.
That code will be influential in determining whether or not the standard of good faith bargaining has been met. Good faith covers other matters Fixed Term Contracts Fixed term contracts will no longer allow employment to come to an end at a specified date. The employee will be treated as being unjustifiably dismissed unless the employer can establish at the end date of the contract there were genuine reasons for ending the contract, and that those reasons relate to the employer's operational requirements. Both existing individual employment contracts and existing collective employment contracts entered into pursuant to the Employment Contracts Act 1991 will be treated for the purpose of the new law as if they were an individual employment or collective agreement under the new law. Individual employment contracts under the old Act will need to be reconsidered to ensure that they meet the requirements of the new law.