Understanding the National Employment Standards

What are the National Employment Standards?

The National Employment Standards, or NES, are a set of minimum rights or entitlements that apply to all full-time and part-time employees under the Australian national workplace relations system. They are often referred to as the ‘safety net’ of employment law.

Casual employees are entitled to some, but not all of the NES. For example, casual workers don’t have access to most forms of paid leave, so they don’t have access to the minimum standards set out for this in the NES.

The NES forms a part of the Fair Work Act, which is the legislation that covers most of the law surrounding the workplace. The NES apply to every employee in Victoria except for some State public sector workers.

These employment standards are the building blocks of the rights employees have, and contracts or other agreements can’t give you conditions below these minimum standards.

Check out our video with Young Workers Centre below to learn about these standards.

Find out more

To find out more about the NES, see the Young Workers Centre website or the Fair Work Commission website.

For free and confidential advice and support for employees under 30, contact the Young Workers Centre.

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