Employment and work futures

Term 2, 2026 flashcards for vocabulary regarding this topic

Employee

Individual that exchanges time qualification + skills in exchange for ongoing employment

Employer

Individual or group of people that pay employees a wage in exchange for their time, qualifications and skills

Trade Union

Group that represents the interest of employees.

Hear employee complaints

Negotiate for better pay + working conditions

Lobby (persuade) the government

Represent employees in legal matter

Government

Legal frame work relating to employee relationship:

Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)

National Employment Standards, FWA

Anti - discrimination laws (protects both rights of employees and employers)

Contractor

Individuals involved in “contract for service” don’t have ongoing employment status with one business

Full time position

Employees who work the standard amount of hours (38 hours per week)

Receive full entitlement: paid sick leave; annual leave; long service leave; superannuation

Part time position

Employees work regular, but fewer hours than full time employees.

Entitlements are received on a pro-rata (proportional) basis relative to hours worked.

Casual

Employees work irregular hours as needed by the employer.

Higher hourly pay rate (casual loading) to make up for the lack of paid leave entitlements.

Less job security, but more flexibility (vary work hours week to week

Self-employed

People have the freedom to work where and when they want to, but face greater risks than other types of employment options.

Primary industry (Goods)

Produces raw materials from what nature has provided

Examples:

Farming

Mining

Fishing

Forestry

Secondary industry (Goods)

Includes all workers who turn raw materials into finished or semi-finished products

Examples:

Iron ore, coal, lime stones into steel

Tertiary Industry (Service)

Provide service to others. More wanted due to spread of information on a world accessible level

Examples:

Retailers

Dentist

Bankers

Solicitors

Quaternary Industry (Service)

Made up of service industries that deal with processing information and knowledge

Examples:

Teachers

IT professionals

Financial advisors

Quinary Industry (Service)

Domestic services. Once carried out by people within their own home

Examp

Hospitality

Childcare

Domestic cleaning

Uber Eats

Wages

What employees receive for labor or services. Fixed payment 

Salary

Total remuneration (Total formal payment)

Profit

Financial gain when total amount of money earned is more than money spent [Profit = revenue – expenses]

Dividends

Sum of money paid regularly by a company to its shareholders, out of its profits

Occupation

Specific job a person does

Sector

Broad category that groups similar industries together 

5 types of industries: 

• Primary

• Secondary

• Tertiary

• Quaternary

• Quinary

Gross income

Income before tax, deductions and super annuation 

Unfair dismissal

When an employee sacked, believes dismal is harsh or unreasonable

Summary dismissal

Serious breach of employee contact such as fraud, intoxication or assault of employer 

Dismissal ‘by notice’

Based on failure to perform job adequately 

Redundancy or retrenchment

Dismissal due to employer no longer needing employee for economic or operational reasons