Working with the Victorian Electoral Commission

What you can expect
Conditions of employment
Political impartiality
Code of conduct
Workplace diversity
Occupational health and safety
Flexible working arrangements

What you can expect

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) provides an environment in which people can realise their career potential, and make a significant positive contribution to the Victorian community.

Effective management of people is an important priority for the VEC. The VEC recognises that job satisfaction and recognition of people's work are key elements in building a professional and successful team. Therefore we make the commitment to our people that we will:

• provide an enjoyable and safe place to work;
• develop and reward excellence in their work;
• help them achieve the key objectives of their roles; and
• recognise the importance of family commitments.

Conditions of employment

Non-executive staff of the VEC have their terms and conditions regulated by an Enterprise Agreement/Federal Award.

The Agreement and the Award prescribe certain employment conditions and incorporate other terms and conditions made under previous VEC agreements.

See a summary of the employment conditions which generally apply in the VEC.

Political impartiality

Since the VEC is responsible for providing the people of Victoria with an independent electoral service, it is vitally important that the VEC and its employees are able to perform their duties with complete political impartiality.

Code of conduct

The VEC is committed to the Public Sector Values and Employment Principles contained within the Public Administration Act 2004 (external link).

Workplace diversity

The VEC supports people management which recognises and values individual differences in the workplace, is consistent with merit and equity principles and develops an organisational culture which positively values a diverse workforce and manages it for improved productivity.

Diversity recognises individual or group differences. It can relate to either personal characteristics, some of which may be age, sex, disability, sexual preference, race and cultural background, or other factors such as thinking and working styles, education, profession, life experience and skill levels.

The VEC's principles of Merit and Equity also reflect that organisational functions are delivered in a fair and equitable manner, where employees and stakeholders are not subject to discrimination or harassment.

The Merit Principle occurs when decisions in employment such as appointment, promotion and career development are based on the most competent person being selected. It ensures that decisions relating to individuals are made without discrimination or harassment.

The Equity Principle is about giving people a "fair go". It is applied to remove discrimination and its effects from the workplace and to ensure that all individuals are treated fairly and reasonably and that their differences are respected.

Occupational health and safety

Safety is everyone's responsibility at the Victorian Electoral Commission.

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) is committed to providing and maintaining a working environment which is safe and without risk to the health of its employees, clients, contractors and visitors.

This commitment also extends to ensuring that the work of the VEC does not place the Victorian community at risk of injury, illness, disease or any form of property damage.

Workplace health and safety management principles are integral to the everyday business of our workplace.

Flexible working arrangements

Staff are able to utilise a variety of options available under the VEC's flexible work arrangements policy. Management and staff can request agreement to use a range of flexible working options.

The following arrangements have been agreed to and successfully implemented for a variety of VEC staff to effectively balance their work, personal and family commitments:

Flexible working hours	Variable daily start and finish times.
Make up time	Time taken off during working hours may be made up after the event.
Telecommuting/Working from home	Regular performance of work related tasks in a home-based office, using telecommunications technology to communicate with the primary office. Telecommuting is often referred to as working from home but is actually a more structured arrangement.
Seasonal variation to working hours	Working extra hours during peak seasons and less hours during lower workloads.
Part time employment and job sharing	Two or more people share one full-time job, each working part-time on a regular basis.
Parental leave at half pay	Paid maternity, adoption or paternity leave is taken at half pay or a period on full pay with a period of half pay is combined.