Employment practices in Australia are heavily affected by
statutory provisions, tax, superannuation as well as market forces.
With relatively low unemployment, it is also not uncommon for
employers to provide more than statutory requirements.
For employers coming from a United States background, the common
law position is also significantly different to the position in the
United States. One of the most important differences is that the
Californian concept of "at will" employment does not
apply in Australia. In particular:
- in the absence of misconduct an employee is entitled to minimum
notice periods under federal law;
- in addition to the minimum rights under federal law, whenever
the contract of employment fails to specify the required period of
notice, there is a common law requirement for the employer to give
reasonable notice. The amount of reasonable notice varies with a
number of factors, including the employee's age, seniority and
length of service. At
