DENTAL ASSISTANTS AND SECRETARIES (STATE) AWARD
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Application by the
Australian Dental Association for a new award, industrial organisation of
employers.
(Nos. IRC 4847, 4848, 4872 and 4891 of 2003)
|
Before The Honourable
Justice Schmidt
|
13 October 2003
|
AWARD
PART A
Arrangement
PART A
Clause No. Subject Matter
1. Wages and
Classifications
2. Casual
and Part-time Employees
3. Hours
4. Overtime and
Evening Meal Money
5. Holidays
6. Sick
Leave
7. Personal
Carer’s Leave
8. Bereavement
Leave
9. Time and
Payment of Salaries
10. Termination
of Employment
11. Redundancy
12. Superannuation
13. Long
Service Leave
14. Annual
Holidays
15. Annual Leave
Loading
16. Prohibitions
17. Clothing
18. Right of
Entry
18A. Union
Contributions
19. Attendance
at Technical College
20. Block
Release
21. Finishing
at Night
22. Exhibition
of Certificate
23. First-Aid
Allowance
24. Disputes
and Industrial Grievance Procedures
25. Definitions
26. Anti-Discrimination
27. Exemptions
28. Leave
Reserved
29. Area,
Incidence and Duration
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 - Wages
(i) Adults
(ii) Juniors
Table 2 - Allowances
1. Wages and
Classifications
(i) The minimum
weekly wage payable shall be as set out in Table 1 - Wages, of Part B, Monetary
Rates.
(ii) The rates of
pay in this award include the adjustments payable under the State Wage Case of
June 2003. These adjustments may be offset against:
(a) any equivalent
over-award payments; and/or
(b) award wage
increases since 29 May 1991 other than safety net adjustments and minimum rates
adjustments.
(iii) Classification
Levels
All employees shall be graded in one of the following
levels and informed accordingly in writing within 14 days of appointment to the
position held by the employee and subsequent graded positions.
(iv) Classification
levels are described as follows:
Level 1
(a) Shall mean an employee
with no prior experience relevant to the dental industry.
(b) Such an
employee shall be provided with on the job experience under direct supervision
to perform general duties as directed and to learn basic skills and knowledge
required of a dental assistant. This
shall include:
(i) Basic
knowledge of infection control and occupational health and safety principles;
(ii) Identification
of surgery equipment, instruments and dental materials;
(iii) Understanding
of basic medico and dento/legal requirements as it relates to their occupation
as may be outlined under NSW law.
(c) An employee at
this level may be required to undertake the following duties:
(i) Assisting in
preparation of surgery for treatment.
(ii) Reception of
patients;
(iii) Basic
clerical duties;
(d) Such an
employee shall be employed at this level for no more than 6 months. This period
may be shortened at the employer’s discretion.
Level 2
(a) Shall mean an
employee having undergone training at level 1 or having appropriate experience
in the dental industry.
(b) Such an
employee would work under direct supervision and direction as appropriate and
be provided with on the job experience to develop the following skills and
knowledge:
(i) knowledge of the
administrative and clerical duties required by the dental assistant and or
secretary in the practice;
(ii) understanding
of basic dental procedures and knowledge of the role of the dental assistant
and secretary in assisting the employer.
(iii) understanding
of the organization of the dental establishment;
(iv) interpersonal
skills to enable them to relate to patients;
(v) knowledge of
infection control requirements of the industry.
(c) An employee at
this level may be required to undertake the following duties:
(i) infection
control, including cleaning, care and sterilization of instruments and decontamination of surgery and office
equipment;
(ii) preparation
of the surgery for dental procedures, including compiling daily treatment
sheet;
(iii) assistance at
the chairside during dental procedures;
(iv) entering,
updating, removing or refiling patient information;
(v) receiving and
recording payments, issuing receipts, following up and recording outstanding
accounts;
(vi) communicating
with patients and staff members; responding to telephone, fax, email, oral and
written information;
(vii) administer an
appropriate recall system;
(viii) undertaking
banking procedures.
Level 3
(a) Employees may be
required to instruct other employees in the skills required at this level or
levels below by means of personal instruction and demonstration.
(b) An employee at
this grade applies knowledge gained to a broad range of skills.
(c) Shall mean an
employee with experience at level 2 who possesses a Nationally accredited level
III Certificate in dental assisting.
(d) Such an
employee would work under minimal supervision, direction and control as is
appropriate.
(e) An employee at
this level may be required to undertake the following duties:
(i) tasks at
level 2
(ii) assisting at
chairside with all dental procedures;
(iii) assisting in
impression taking;
(iv) stock control
for both office and surgery supplies;
(v) assisting with
dental radiography, developing and mounting radiographs;
(vi) assisting with
the care of patients including assisting in the management of medical and
dental emergencies;
(vii) care for
patients following dental intra - venous sedation;
(viii) recording of
dental charting and maintenance of all patient records;
(ix) receiving
from, preparing and dispatching work to the dental laboratory
(x) instruct on
post - operative care;
(xi) follow up on
patient treatment under dentist’s instruction.
Level 4
(a) Employees may be
required to instruct other employees in the skills required at this level or
level below by means of personal instruction and demonstration.
(b) Such an
employee would work under minimal supervision, direction and control as is
appropriate.
(c) Shall mean an
employee with the experience and qualifications of a level 3 employee who also
possesses a Nationally accredited level 4 certificate in dental radiography
and/or oral health education and performs the following indicative duties.
(d) An employee at
this level may be required to undertake the following duties:
(i) tasks at
level 2 and 3
(ii) taking,
processing and filing dental radiographs;
(iii) general and
specific oral health instruction of patients and or the public.
Level 5
(a) Shall mean an
employee who is appointed to supervise, train and co - ordinate other staff.
(b) An employee
at this level may be required to undertake the following duties:
(i) establish and
carry out occupational health and safety and infection control regulations and
policies;
(ii) prepare of
staff rosters and allocate tasks;
(iii) establish and
supervise basic bookkeeping including GST and periodic tax requirements;
(iv) oversee all
stock control and carry out ordering of supplies;
(v) maintain staff
wages, records and organize payment of wages;
(vi) assist with
recruitment and selection of staff;
(vii) maintain
computer systems;
(viii) organise
maintenance and repairs of surgery and office equipment;
(ix) prepare and
maintain practice protocols.
(x) liaise with
accountant and auditor as required under instruction of the employer;
(c) An employee at
this level could be expected to perform the duties of an Office Administrator
and the levels below including the duties of a Dental Assistant if the person
has the necessary qualifications or expertise.
2. Casual and
Part-Time Employees
(i) A casual
employee is one engaged and paid as such. A casual employee, for working
ordinary time, shall be paid per hour one-fortieth of the weekly rate
prescribed by this award for an employee of his/her age and/or experience, plus
20 per cent.
(ii) A regular
part-time employee may be engaged for not less than 20 hours per week and shall
be paid, for all time worked, one-fortieth of the appropriate weekly rate prescribed
by this award for each hour worked.
(iii) The
provisions of this award shall apply to part-time employees on a pro-rata
basis.
3. Hours
(i)
(a) The ordinary
hours of work shall not exceed 40 per week, and shall be worked between the hours
of 8.00am and 6.00pm on Monday to Friday inclusive, and 8.00am and noon on
Saturday
(b) Notwithstanding
paragraph (a) of this subclause, where an employer attends patients after
6.00pm Monday to Friday, the employer may roster an employee's hours up until
8.00pm on not more than three nights per week. Any such hours worked between
6.00pm and 8.00pm shall be paid at the rate of time and a quarter. In any
event, the total number of hours worked in any one week shall not exceed 40
without the payment of overtime.
(c) In any day the
period of duty shall be continuous, except for meal breaks.
(ii) Any employee
required to work on a Saturday as part of their ordinary hours of duty shall be
paid an amount as set out in Item 1 of Table 2, Part B - Monetary Rates in
addition to their ordinary rate of pay.
(iii) Not less than
30 minutes and not more than one hour shall be allowed for a midday meal to be
taken between noon and 2.00 p.m. An interval of ten minutes shall be allowed
for morning tea and a further interval of ten minutes for afternoon tea, which
shall be taken on the premises of the employer and shall be counted as time
worked.
(iv) Twenty minutes
shall be allowed for an evening break to be taken between the hours of 5.30
p.m. and 7.00 p.m. in respect only of employees who have worked continuously
(afternoon tea included) for a period of five hours immediately preceding the
said times allowed for such evening break. Such evening break shall be counted
as time worked.
4. Overtime and
Evening Meal Money
(i) Subject to
subclause (iii) of this clause, all time worked in excess of 40 hours per week
shall be paid for at the overtime rates hereinafter prescribed.
(ii) Work done in
excess of 40 hours per week or before the fixed starting time, or after the
fixed finishing time, Monday to Friday inclusive, shall be paid for at the rate
of double time in addition to the weekly salary actually paid. Subject to
subclause (iii) of this clause, work done after noon on any Saturday shall be
paid for at the rate of double time in addition to the weekly salary actually
paid. In any case, any portion of an hour of 30 minutes or less shall be
reckoned as 30 minutes and any portion of an hour above 30 minutes shall be
reckoned as an hour.
(iii) Ordinary
rates shall be payable for time worked within 30 minutes after the normal
finishing time, but such time worked will be included for the purposes of
calculating weekly overtime as provided by subclause (ii) of this clause.
If work continues for more than 30 minutes after the
normal ceasing time, remuneration shall be payable at the rate of time and a
quarter for the whole of the time worked after the normal finishing time.
(iv) Employees
required to work for more than one hour after their ordinary ceasing time,
Monday to Friday inclusive, shall be paid not less than an amount as set out in
Item 2 of Table 2, Part B - Monetary Rates for evening meal money in addition
to any overtime to which they may be entitled under the provisions herein
before contained. If overtime exceeds five hours on any shift, a further meal
allowance of the same amount shall be paid.
(v) No employee
shall be required to work for more than five hours without a 20 minute paid crib
break; provided that the morning and afternoon tea breaks shall not be breaks
for the purposes of this subclause.
(vi) Reasonable
Overtime
(a) Subject to
paragraph (b) below, an employer may require an employee to work reasonable
overtime at overtime rates or as otherwise provided for in this award.
(b) An employee
may refuse to work overtime in circumstances where the working of such overtime
would result in the employee working hours, which are unreasonable.
(c) For the
purposes of paragraph (b) what is unreasonable or otherwise will be determined
having regard to:
(1) Any risk to
employee health and safety;
(2) The employee's
personal circumstances including any family and carer responsibilities;
(3) The needs of
the workplace or enterprise;
(4) The notice (if
any) given by the employer of the overtime and by the employee of his or her
intention to refuse it; and
(5) Any other
relevant matter.
5. Holidays
(i) The following
days shall be holidays under this award:
(a) The days on
which New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Easter
Monday, Anzac Day, Queen's Birthday, Labour Day, Christmas Day and Boxing day
are observed as public holidays.
(b) Any other
special day appointed by proclamation to be observed as a public holiday
throughout the State or in the County of Cumberland.
(ii) Every
employee allowed a holiday specified herein shall be deemed to have worked, in
the week in which the holiday falls, the number of ordinary working hours that he/she
would have worked had the day not been a holiday.
(iii) For work done
on any of the holidays, referred to in subclause (i) of this clause, double
time and one-half shall be paid with a minimum payment for four hours' work.
6. Sick Leave
An employee who is unable to attend for duty by reason of
personal illness or personal incapacity (including incapacity resulting from
injury within the Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998)
shall be entitled to be paid at the ordinary-time rate of pay for the time of
such time, subject to the following:
(i) Where an
employee has been in employment with an employer for less than three months,
sick leave taken during the first three months of employment shall not be paid
until the employee has completed three months' service with that employer.
(ii) He/she shall
not be entitled to paid leave of absence for any period in respect of which
he/she is entitled to workers' compensation.
(iii) He/she shall
produce a medical certificate or other evidence satisfactory to the employer
(which may include a statutory declaration) in order to claim payment for days
that he/she is or was unable to attend work.
(iv) Subject to
subclause (vi) of this clause, he/she shall be entitled to sick pay on the
following bases:
During the first year of employment - 40 hours.
During the second year of employment - 48 hours.
During the third year of employment - 56 hours.
During the fourth year of employment - 64 hours.
During the fifth year of employment - 72 hours.
During the sixth year of employment and thereafter - 80
hours.
Any period of paid sick leave allowed to an employee by
the employer in any such year shall be deducted from the period of sick leave
which may be allowed or carried forward in accordance with subclause (vi) of
this clause, in or in respect of such years.
(v) The right
under this clause shall accumulate from year to year so long as the employment
continues with the same employer, whether under this or any other award, so that
any part of the entitlement which has not been allowed in any year by the
employer may be claimed by the employee and shall be allowed by the employer,
subject to the conditions prescribed by this clause, in a subsequent year of
such continued employment. Any rights which accumulate pursuant to this
paragraph shall be available to the employee for a period of 12 years, but for
no longer, from the end of the year in which they accrued; provided that for
the purpose of this subclause the change of ownership of a practice from one
person to another shall not interrupt the accumulation of sick leave in
accordance with this subclause.
(vi) For the
purposes of this clause, continuous service shall be deemed not to have been
broken by:
(a) any absence
from work on leave granted by his/her employer;
(b) any absence
from work by reason of personal illness, injury or other reasonable cause
(proof whereof shall, in each case, be upon the employee); provided that any
time so lost shall not be taken into account in computing the qualifying period
of three months.
(vii) Service before
the date of coming into force of this award shall be counted in the three
months' continuous service for the purpose of qualifying hereunder.
7. Personal Carer's
Leave
(i) Use of Sick
Leave
(a) An employee,
other than a casual employee, with responsibilities in relation to a class of
person set out in subparagraph (2) of paragraph (c) of this subclause who needs
the employee's care and support, shall be entitled to use, in accordance with
this subclause, any current or accrued sick leave entitlement provided for in
Clause 6 - Sick Leave, for absences to provide care and support for such
persons when they are ill. Such leave may be taken for part of a single day.
(b) The employee
shall, if required, establish either by production of a medical certificate or
statutory declaration, the illness of the person concerned and that the illness
is such as to require care by another person. In normal circumstances, an
employee must not take carer's leave under this subclause where another person
has taken leave to care for the same person.
(c) The
entitlement to use sick leave in accordance with this subclause is subject to:
(1) the employee
being responsible for the care of the person concerned; and
(2) the person
concerned being:
(a) a spouse of
the employee; or
(b) a de facto
spouse who, in relation to a person, is a person of the opposite sex to the
first mentioned person who lives with the first mentioned person as the husband
or wife of that person on a bona fide domestic basis although not legally
married to that person; or
(c) a child or an
adult child (including an adopted child, a step-child, a foster child or an
ex-nuptial child), parent (including a foster parent and legal guardian),
grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee or spouse or de facto spouse
of the employee; or
(d) a same sex
partner who lives with the employee as the de facto partner of that employee on
a bona fide domestic basis; or
(e) a relative of
the employee who is a member of the same household where, for the purposes of
this subparagraph:
(i) "relative"
means a person related by blood, marriage or affinity;
(ii) "affinity"
means a relationship that one spouse, because of marriage, has blood relatives of the other; and
(iii) "household"
means a family group living in the same domestic dwelling.
(d) An employee
shall, wherever practicable, give the employer notice prior to the absence of
the intention to take leave, the name of the person requiring care and that
person's relationship to the employee, the reasons for taking such leave and
the estimated length of absence. If it is not practicable for the employee to
give prior notice of absence, the employee shall notify the employer by telephone
of such absence at the first opportunity on the day of absence.
(ii) Unpaid Leave
for Family Purpose
(a) An employee
may elect, with the consent of the employer, to take unpaid leave for the
purpose of providing care and support to a member of a class of person set out
in subparagraph (2) of paragraph (c) of subclause (i) who is ill.
(iii) Annual Leave
(a) An employee
may elect, with the consent of the employer, subject to the Annual Holidays
Act 1944, to take annual leave not exceeding five days in single-day
periods, or part thereof, in any calendar year at a time or times agreed by the
parties.
(b) Access to
annual leave, as prescribed in paragraph (a) of this subclause, shall be exclusive
of any shutdown period provided for elsewhere under this award.
(c) An employee
and employer may agree to defer payment of the annual leave loading in respect
of single-day absences until at least five consecutive annual leave days are
taken.
(iv) Time Off in
Lieu of Payment for Overtime
(a) An employee
may elect, with the consent of the employer, to take time off in lieu of
payment for overtime at a time or times agreed with the employer within 12
months of the said election.
(b) Overtime taken
as time off during ordinary-time hours shall be taken at the ordinary-time
rate, that is, an hour for each hour worked.
(c) If, having
elected to take time as leave in accordance with paragraph (a) of this
subclause, the leave is not taken for whatever reason, payment for time accrued
at overtime rates shall be made at the expiry of the 12-month period or on
termination.
(d) Where no
election is made in accordance with the said paragraph (a), the employee shall
be paid overtime rates in accordance with this award.
(v) Make-Up Time
(a) An employee
may elect, with the consent of the employer, to work "make-up time",
under which the employee takes time off ordinary hours and works those hours at
a later time during the spread of ordinary hours provided in the award, at the
ordinary rate of pay.
8. Bereavement Leave
(i) An employee,
other than a casual employee, shall be entitled to a maximum of two days
bereavement leave without deduction of pay, up to and including the day of the
funeral, on each occasion of the death of a person in Australia as prescribed
in subclause (iii) of this clause.
(ii) The employee
must notify the employer as soon as practicable of the intention to take
bereavement leave and will provide to the satisfaction of the employer the
proof of death.
(iii) Bereavement
leave shall be available to the employee in respect to the death of a person
prescribed for the purposes of personal/carers leave as set out in subparagraph
(2) of paragraph (c) of subclause (i) of Clause 7 - Personal Carer's Leave,
provide that for the purpose of bereavement leave, the employee need not have
been responsible for the care of the person concerned.
(iv) An employee
shall not be entitled to bereavement leave under this clause during any period
in respect of which the employee has been granted other leave
(v) Bereavement
leave may be taken in conjunction with other leave available under subclauses
(ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) of the said Clause 7. In determining such a request, the
employer will give consideration to the circumstances of the employee and the
reasonable operational requirements of the business.
9. Time and Payment
of Salaries
(i) Except as
provided in subclause (ii) of this clause, all salaries shall be paid weekly in
cash except that if the employer receives an authority conferred in writing by
the employee, they may pay by cheque or electronic funds transfer.
(ii) Notwithstanding
the provisions of subclause (i) of this clause, an employer may pay the wages
of weekly and part-time employees fortnightly, subject to the fact that the
implementation of fortnightly pays is as follows:
Employees employed prior to 18 October 1990 may only be
paid fortnightly if consent is given by the employee to the change, in writing,
using the terms agreed to by the N.S.W. Dental Assistants Association and the
Australian Dental Association (New South Wales Branch) Limited.
It shall not be open to the union to object to the fact
of fortnightly payment of salaries, where agreed, but it shall be open to the
union to object to the terms on which fortnightly pays are introduced and
operated.
Overtime shall be paid within a week from the pay day
succeeding the day upon which such overtime became due. Provided that where
wages are paid fortnightly, overtime shall be paid within a fortnight from the
pay succeeding the day or days on which such overtime became due.
10. Termination of
Employment
(i) Except for
misconduct justifying summary dismissal, the service of an employee shall be
terminated only by seven days' notice or by the payment of seven days' salary
in lieu thereof.
(ii) No employee
shall, without the consent of the employer, resign from his/her employment
without having given seven days' notice of his/her intention so to do. Should
he/she resign without giving such notice, he/she shall forfeit salary up to the
time of resignation for such portion of the current pay period during which
he/she has worked.
(iii) Upon
termination of the service of an employee, the employer shall furnish him/her
with a written statement, duly signed by or on behalf of the employer, setting
out the period of his/her employment and the capacity in which he/she was
employed.
11. Redundancy
(i) Application
(a) This clause shall
apply in respect of full-time and part-time employees.
(b) This clause
shall only apply to employers who employ 15 or more employees immediately prior
to the termination of employment of employees.
(c) Notwithstanding
anything contained elsewhere in this clause, this clause shall not apply to
employees with less than one year s continuous service and the general
obligation on employers shall be no more than to give such employees an
indication of the impending redundancy at the first reasonable opportunity, and
to take such steps as may be reasonable to facilitate the obtaining by the
employees of suitable alternative employment.
(d) Notwithstanding
anything contained elsewhere in this clause, this clause shall not apply where
employment is terminated as a consequence of conduct that justifies instant
dismissal, including malingering, inefficiency or neglect of duty, or in the
case of casual employees, apprentices or employees engaged for a specific
period of time or for a specified task or tasks or where employment is
terminated due to the ordinary and customary turnover of labour.
(ii) Introduction
of Change
(a) Employer's
duty to notify
(1) Where an
employer has made a definite decision to introduce major changes in production,
program, organisation, structure or technology that are likely to have
significant effects on employees, the employer shall notify the employees who
may be affected by the proposed changes and the union to which they belong.
(2) "Significant
effects" include termination of employment, major changes in the
composition, operation or size of the employer's workforce or in the skills
required, the elimination or diminution of job opportunities, promotion
opportunities or job tenure, the alteration of hours of work, the need for
retraining or transfer of employees to other work or locations and the
restructuring of jobs.
Provided that where the award makes provision for
alteration of any of the matters referred to herein, an alteration shall be
deemed not to have significant effect.
(b) Employer's
duty to discuss change
(1) The employer
shall discuss with the employees affected and the union to which they belong,
inter alia, the introduction of the changes referred to in paragraph (a) above,
the effects the changes are likely to have on employees and measures to avert
or mitigate the adverse effects of such changes on employees, and shall give
prompt consideration to matters raised by the employees and/or the union in
relation to the changes.
(2) The discussion
shall commence as early as practicable after a definite decision has been made
by the employer to make the changes referred to in paragraph (a) of this
subclause.
(3) For the
purpose of such discussion, the employer shall provide to the employees concerned
and the union to which they belong, all relevant information about the changes
including the nature of the changes proposed, the expected effects of the
changes on employees and any other matters likely to affect employees, provided
that any employer shall not be required to disclose confidential information
the disclosure of which would adversely affect the employer.
(iii) Redundancy
(a) Discussions
before terminations
(1) Where an
employer has made a definite decision that the employer no longer wishes the
job the employee has been doing to be done by anyone pursuant to subparagraph
(1) of paragraph (a) of subclause (ii) above, and that decision may lead to the
termination of employment, the employer shall hold discussions with the employees
directly affected and with the union to which they belong.
(2) The
discussions shall take place as soon as is practicable after the employer has
made a definite decision which will invoke the provision of subparagraph (1) of
this paragraph and shall cover, inter alia, any reasons for the proposed
terminations, measures to avoid or minimise the terminations and measures to
mitigate any adverse effects of any termination on the employees concerned.
(3) For the
purposes of the discussion the employer shall, as soon as practicable, provide
to the employees concerned and the union to which they belong, all relevant
information about the proposed terminations including the reasons for the
proposed terminations, the number and categories of employees likely to be
affected, and the number of workers normally employed and the period over which
the terminations are likely to be carried out. Provided that any employer shall
not be required to disclose confidential formation the disclosure of which
would adversely affect the employer.
(iv) Termination of
Employment
(a) Notice for
Changes in Production, Programme, Organisation or Structure
This subclause sets out the notice provisions to be
applied to terminations by the employer for reasons arising from
"production", "programme", "organisation" or
"structure" in accordance with subclause (ii)(a)(1) above.
(1) In order to
terminate the employment of an employee the employer shall give to the employee
the following notice:
|
Period
of Continuous Service
|
Period
of Notice
|
|
|
|
|
Less than 1 year
|
1
week
|
|
1 year and less than 3 years
|
2
weeks
|
|
3 years and less than 5 years
|
3
weeks
|
|
5 years and over
|
4
weeks
|
(2) In addition to
the notice above, employees over 45 years of age at the time of the giving of
the notice with not less than two years continuous service, shall be entitled
to an additional week s notice.
(3) Payment in
lieu of the notice above shall be made if the appropriate notice period is not
given. Provided that employment may be terminated by part of the period of
notice specified and part payment in lieu thereof.
(b) Notice for
Technological Change
This subclause sets out the notice provisions to be
applied to terminations by the employer for reasons arising from
"technology" in accordance with subclause (ii)(a)(1) above:
(1) In order to
terminate the employment of an employee the employer shall give to the employee
three months notice of termination.
(2) Payment in
lieu of the notice above shall be made if the appropriate notice period is not
given. Provided that employment may be terminated by part of the period of
notice specified and part payment in lieu thereof.
(3) The period of
notice required by this subclause to be given shall be deemed to be service
with the employer for the purposes of the Long Service Leave Act 1955,
the Annual Holidays Act 1944, or any Act amending or replacing either of
these Acts.
(c) Time Off
During the Notice Period
(1) During the
period of notice of termination given by the employer, an employee shall be
allowed up to one day's time off without loss of pay during each week of
notice, to a maximum of five weeks, for the purposes of seeking other
employment.
(2) If the employee
has been allowed paid leave for more than one day during the notice period for
the purpose of seeking other employment, the employee shall, at the request of
the employer, be required to produce proof of attendance at an interview or the
employee shall not receive payment for the time absent.
(d) Employee
Leaving During the Notice Period
If the employment of an employee is terminated (other
than for misconduct) before the notice period expires, the employee shall be
entitled to the same benefits and payments under this clause had the employee
remained with the employer until the expiry of such notice. Provided that in such circumstances the
employee shall not be entitled to payment in lieu of notice.
(e) Statement of
Employment
The employer shall, upon receipt of a request from an
employee whose employment has been terminated, provide to the employee a
written statement specifying the period of the employee's employment and the
classification of or the type of work performed by the employee.
(f) Notice to
Centrelink
Where a decision has been made to terminate employees,
the employer shall notify Centrelink thereof as soon as possible giving
relevant information including the number and categories of the employees
likely to be affected and the period over which the terminations are intended
to be carried out.
(g) Centrelink
Employment Separation Certificate
The employer shall, upon receipt of a request from an
employee whose employment has been terminated, provide to the employee an
"Employment Separation Certificate" in the form required by
Centrelink.
(h) Transfer to
Lower Paid Duties
Here an employee is transferred to lower paid duties
for reasons set out in paragraph (a) of subclause (ii) above, the employee
shall be entitled to the same period of notice of transfer as the employee
would have been entitled to if the employee s employment had been terminated,
and the employer may, at the employer's option, make payment in lieu thereof of
an amount equal to the difference between the former ordinary time rate of pay
and the new ordinary time rate for the number of weeks of notice still owing.
(v) Severance Pay
(a) Where the
employment of an employee is to be terminated pursuant to subclause (iv) above,
subject to further order of the Industrial Relations Commission, the employer
shall pay the following severance pay in respect of a continuous period of
service:
(1) If an employee
is under 45 years of age, the employer shall pay in accordance with the
following scale:
|
Years of Service
|
Under 45 Years of
Age
|
|
|
Entitlement
|
|
|
|
|
Less than 1 year
|
Nil
|
|
1 year and less than 2 years
|
4 weeks
|
|
2 years and less than 3 years
|
7 weeks
|
|
3 years and less than 4 years
|
10 weeks
|
|
4 years and less than 5 years
|
12 weeks
|
|
5 years and less than 6 years
|
14 weeks
|
|
6 years and over
|
16 weeks
|
(2) Where an
employee is 45 years of age or over, the entitlement shall be in accordance
with the following scale:
|
Years of Service
|
45 Years of Age and
Over
|
|
|
Entitlement
|
|
|
|
|
Less than 1 year.
|
Nil
|
|
1 year and less than 2 years.
|
5 weeks
|
|
2 years and less than 3 years
|
8.75 weeks
|
|
3 years and less than 4 years
|
12.5 weeks
|
|
4 years and less than 5 years
|
15 weeks
|
|
5 years and less than 6 years
|
17.5 weeks
|
|
6 years and over
|
20 weeks
|
(3) "Weeks
pay" means the all-purpose rate of pay for the employee concerned at the
date of termination and shall include, in addition to the ordinary rate of pay,
overaward payments, shift penalties and allowances provided for in the relevant
award.
(b) Incapacity to
Pay
Subject to an application by the employer and further
order of the Industrial Relations Commission, an employer may pay a lesser
amount (or no amount) of severance pay than that contained in paragraph (a)
above.
The Industrial Relations Commission shall have regard
to such financial and other resources of the employer concerned as the
Commission thinks relevant, and the probable effect paying the amount of
severance pay in paragraph (a) above will have on the employer.
(c) Alternative
Employment
Subject to an application by the employer and further
order of the Industrial Relations Commission, an employer may pay a lesser
amount (or no amount) of severance pay than that contained in paragraph (a)
above if the employer obtains acceptable alternative employment for an
employee.
(vi) Savings Clause
Nothing in this award shall be construed so as to require
the reduction or alteration of more advantageous benefits or conditions which
an employee may be entitled to under any existing redundancy arrangement, taken
as a whole, between the union and any employer bound by this award.
12. Superannuation
(i) The subject
of superannuation is dealt with extensively by federal legislation including
the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992, the Superannuation
Guarantee Charge Act 1992, the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act
1993, the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993 and
section 124 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 (NSW). This
legislation, as varied from time to time, governs the superannuation rights and
obligations of the parties.
(ii) Subject to
the requirements of this legislation, superannuation contributions may be made
to:
(a) ASSET
(Australian Superannuation Savings Employment Trust); or
(b) CANPLAN (Multi
Industry Superannuation Plan); or
(c) Any industry
or multi-employer superannuation fund which has application to the employees in
the main business of the employer where employees covered by this award are a
minority of award covered employees, provided that such fund complies with the
Occupational Superannuation Guidelines and has joint employer/union management;
or
(d) Any
superannuation fund which has application to the employees in the main business
of the employer, pursuant to a superannuation arrangement approved by an
industrial tribunal prior to 16 December 1985, and where employees covered by
this award are a minority of award covered employees. Where freedom or choice
is provided for in such arrangement the principle of that provision shall apply
and wherever practicable ASSET shall be included in such choice; or
(e) Any
superannuation fund which improves or provides superannuation to employees
covered by this award provided that such a fund was established or improved
after 16 December 1985 and prior to 28 February 1992; or
(f) Such other
funds approved by an award or industrial agreement.
13. Long Service
Leave
See Long Service Leave Act 1955.
14. Annual Holidays
See Annual Holidays Act 1944.
15. Annual Leave
Loading
(i) In this
clause, the Annual Holidays Act 1944 is referred to as "the
Act".
(ii) Before an employee
is given and takes his/her annual holiday, or, where by agreement between the
employer and the employee the annual holiday is given and taken in more than
one separate period, then before each of such separate periods, the employer
shall pay the employee a loading determined in accordance with this clause.
(iii) The loading
is payable in addition to the pay for the period of holiday accrued and taken
under the Act and this award.
(iv) The loading is
to be calculated in relation to any period of annual holiday to which the
employee becomes entitled under the Act and this award, or, where such a
holiday is given and taken in separate periods then in relation to each such
separate period.
(v) The loading is
the amount payable for the period or the separate period, as the case may be,
stated in subclause (iv) of this clause, at the rate per week of 17½ per cent
of the appropriate ordinary weekly time rate of pay prescribed by this award
for the classification in which the employee was employed immediately before
commencing his/her annual holiday, together with the allowances, if any,
payable under subclause (iii) of Clause 1 - Salaries.
(vi) No loading is
payable to an employee who takes an annual holiday wholly or partly in advance;
provided that, if the employment of such an employee continues until the day
when he/she would have become entitled under the Act to an annual holiday, the
loading then becomes payable in respect of the period of such holiday and is to
be calculated in accordance with subclause (v) of this clause, applying the
award rates and wages payable on that day. This subclause applies where an
annual holiday has been taken wholly or partly in advance.
(vii)
(a) When the
employment of an employee is terminated by his/her employer, for a cause other
than misconduct and at the time of the termination the employee has not been
given and has not taken the whole of an annual holiday to which he/she became
entitled, the employee shall be paid a loading calculated in accordance with
subclause (iv) of this clause for the period not taken.
(b) Except as
provided by paragraph (a) of this subclause, no loading is payable on the
termination of an employee's employment.
16. Prohibitions
No employee shall be required to:
(i) do any scrubbing,
cleaning, or polishing other than that required to ensure infection control;
(ii) carry out any
of the duties for prosthetic purposes normally carried out by Dental
Technicians as defined within the industries and callings of the Dental Technicians
(State) Industrial Committee, other than the handling of impression materials
used for direct surgery procedures and other than the pouring up of
impressions;
(iii) stand while
performing chairside duties involving four- or six-handed dentistry where the
operator (dentist) is seated.
17. Clothing
If any employee is required to wear a uniform, the employer
shall bear the expense of laundering the same; provided that where the uniforms
are not laundered at the expense of the employer, an allowance per week of an
amount as set out in Item 3 of Table 2, Part B - Monetary Rates per week shall
be paid to the employee.
18. Right of Entry
See Industrial Relations Act 1996.
18A. Union
Contributions
(i) The employer
shall deduct Union membership fees (not including fines or levies) from the pay
of any employee, provided that:
(a) the employee
has authorised the employer to make such deductions in accordance with
subclause (ii) herein;
(b) The Union
shall advise the employer of the amount to be deducted for each pay period
applying at the employer's workplace and any changes to that amount;
(c) deduction of
union membership fees shall only occur in each pay period in which payment has
or is to be made to an employee; and
(d) there shall be
no requirement to make deductions for casual employees with less than two
months' service (continuous or otherwise).
(ii) The
employee's authorisation shall be in writing and shall authorise the deduction
of an amount of Union fees (including any variation in that fee effected in
accordance with the Union's rules) that the Union advises the employer to
deduct. Where the employee passes any
such written authorisation to the Union, the Union shall not pass the written
authorisation on to the employer without first obtaining the employee's consent
to do so. Such consent may form part of the written authorisation.
(iii) Monies so
deducted from employees' pay shall be remitted to the Union on either a weekly,
fortnightly, monthly or quarterly basis at the employer's election, together
with all necessary information to enable the reconciliation and crediting of
subscriptions to employees' membership accounts, provided that:
(a) where the
employer has elected to remit on a weekly or fortnightly basis, the employer
shall be entitled to retain up to five per cent of the monies deducted; and
(b) where the
employer has elected to remit on a monthly or quarterly basis, the employer
shall be entitled to retain up to 2.5 per cent of the monies deducted.
(iv) Where an
employee has already authorised the deduction of Union membership fees in
writing from his or her pay prior to this clause taking effect, nothing in this
clause shall be read as requiring the employee to make a fresh authorisation in
order for such deductions to commence or continue.
(v) The Union
shall advise the employer of any change to the amount of membership fees made
under its rules, provided that this does not occur more than once in any
calendar year. Such advice shall be in
the form of a schedule of fees to be deducted specifying either weekly,
fortnightly, monthly or quarterly as the case may be. The Union shall give the employer a minimum of two months'
notice of any such change.
(vi) An employee
may at any time revoke in writing an authorisation to the employer to make
payroll deductions of Union membership fees.
(vii) Where an
employee who is a member of the Union and who has authorised the employer to
make payroll deductions of Union membership fees resigns his or her membership
of the Union in accordance with the rules of the Union, the Union shall inform
the employee in writing of the need to revoke the authorisation to the employer
in order for payroll deductions of union membership fees to cease.
(viii) This clause
shall take effect from the first full pay period to commence on or after:
(1) In the case of
employers which currently deduct union membership fees, or whose payroll
facilities are carried out by way of an outsourcing arrangement, or whose
payroll calculations are made through the use of computerised means, from the
beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after 13 October 2003.
(2) In the case of
employers who do not fall within sub-paragraph (i) above, but who currently
make deductions, other than union membership fee deductions or mandatory
deductions (such as for taxation instalments or superannuation contributions)
from employees’ pay, or have in place facilities to make such deductions, from
the beginning of the first pay period to commence on 13 January 2004.
(3) For all other
employers, from the beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after
13 April 2004.
19. Attendance at
Technical College
Any time occupied by an employee within the County of
Cumberland who has enrolled to attend a dental assistants' course during
ordinary working hours shall be given time off to attend such course, except in
the event of an unforeseen emergency arising in the surgery requiring the
presence of the assistant, including the time occupied in travelling between
the surgery where he/she is employed and the college and in attending such
course at the college and such time shall be calculated as part of the ordinary
hours of work and paid as such.
This subclause applies only in respect of a course conducted
for dental assistants by a college of the NSW Department of Education and
Training or the NSW Dental Assistants Association.
20. Block Release
(i) An employee shall
be allowed paid leave for the purposes of block release to enable him/her to
undertake the level III Certificate in dental assisting referred to in
subclause (iv) of Clause 1 - Wages and Classifications, by correspondence or to
attend a college of the Department of Education and Training or the Dental
Assistants Association for practical block release training.
(ii) The leave
stated in subclause (i) of this clause shall not exceed one month and any
request for such leave shall be made in writing at least one month before the
date of commencement of the leave sought.
(iii) Nothing in
this clause shall require the employer to reimburse the employee for travelling
expenses incurred in connection with practical block-release training.
21. Finishing at Night
(i) When an
employee working overtime finishes work at a time when the usual means of
transport are not available, the employer shall provide transport or shall pay
him/her at the ordinary rate for the time occupied in reaching his/her home. An
employee working overtime who finishes work when the usual means of transport
are not available shall be entitled to any additional outlay incurred in
reaching home by reasonable means of transport.
(ii) Employees
under 18 years of age: No employee under 18 years of age shall be required to
work beyond 9.00 p.m., except in exceptional circumstances; in such case the
employer shall provide transport to the employee's home.
22. Exhibition of
Certificate
Any dental assistant who has completed the level III Certificate
of dental assisting shall be entitled to exhibit the certificate in a prominent
place, where it can be seen by the patients on the employer's premises.
23. First-Aid
Allowance
An employee who has been trained to render first-aid and who
is the current holder of appropriate first-aid qualifications, such as a
certificate from the St. John Ambulance or similar body, shall be paid an
allowance per week of an amount as set out in Item 4 of Table 2, Part B -
Monetary Rates, if the employee is appointed by an employer to perform
first-aid duty.
24. Disputes and
Industrial Grievance Procedures
The procedures for the resolution of grievances and
industrial disputation concerning matters arising under this award shall be in
accordance with the following procedural steps.
(i) Procedure
relating to a grievance of an individual employee:
(a) The employee
shall notify (in writing or otherwise) the employer as to the substance of the
grievance, request a meeting with the employer for bilateral discussions and
state the remedy sought.
(b) The grievance
must initially be dealt with as close to its source as possible, with graduated
steps for further discussion and resolution at higher levels of authority.
(c) Reasonable time
limits must be allowed for discussion at each level of authority.
(d) At the
conclusion of the discussion, the employer must provide a response to the
employee's grievance, if the matter has not been resolved, including reasons
for not implementing any proposed remedy.
(e) While a
procedure is being followed, normal work must continue.
(f) The employee
may be represented by an industrial organisation of employees for the purposes
of each procedure.
(ii) Disputes
between an employer and the employees - In the event of a question, dispute or
difficulty arising:
(a) The matter
shall first be raised with the supervisor and agreement sought.
(b) If the dispute
is not resolved at this level, the matter may be discussed between the union
delegate and representatives of management.
(c) Should the
dispute remain unresolved, the matter may be referred to an official of the
union, who shall discuss it with senior management. If necessary, the State
Secretary of the union and the relevant employer association may also be
involved in discussions at this stage.
(d) In the event
of no agreement being reached at this stage, the dispute may be referred to the
Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales.
(e) Reasonable
time limits will be allowed for discussion at each level of authority, but
undue delay should be avoided.
(f) While the
procedure is being followed, normal work will continue.
25. Definitions
In this award, unless the context indicates otherwise
"Association" means the NSW Dental Assistants Association.
26.
Anti-Discrimination
(1) It is the
intention of the parties bound by this award to seek to achieve the object in
section 3(f) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 to prevent and
eliminate discrimination in the workplace. This includes discrimination on the
grounds of race, sex, marital status, disability, homosexuality, transgender
identity age and responsibilities as a carer.
(2) It follows
that in fulfilling their obligations under the dispute resolution procedure
prescribed by this award the parties have obligations to take all reasonable
steps to ensure that the operation of the provisions of this award are not
directly or indirectly discriminatory in their effects. It will be consistent
with the fulfilment of these obligations for the parties to make application to
vary any provision of the award which, by its terms or operation, has a direct
or indirect discriminatory effect.
(3) Under the Anti-Discrimination
Act 1977, it is unlawful to victimise an employee because the employee has
made or may make or has been involved in a complaint of unlawful discrimination
or harassment.
(4) Nothing in
this clause is to be taken to affect:
(a) any conduct or
act which is specifically exempted from anti-discrimination legislation;
(b) offering or
providing junior rates of pay to persons under 21 years of age;
(c) any act or
practice of a body established to propagate religion which is exempted under
section 56(d) of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977;
(d) a party to
this award from pursuing matters of unlawful discrimination in any State or
federal jurisdiction.
(5) This clause
does not create legal rights or obligations in addition to those imposed upon
the parties by the legislation referred to in this clause.
NOTES
(a) Employers and
employees may also be subject to Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation.
(b) Section 56(d)
of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 provides:
"Nothing in the Act affects ... any other act or practice
of a body established to propagate religion that conforms to the doctrines of
that religion or is necessary to avoid injury to the religious susceptibilities
of the adherents of that religion."
27. Exemptions
(1) Except as to
the provisions of Clause 26 - Anti-Discrimination, Clause 5 - Holidays, Clause
15 - Annual Leave Loadings, Clause 13 - Long Service Leave, Clause 6 - Sick
Leave, subclauses (i), (ii) and (iii) of Clause 7 - Personal/Carer’s Leave,
Clause 8 - Bereavement Leave, Clause 12 - Superannuation, and Clause 11 -
Redundancy, this award shall not apply to employees classified as a Level 5 who
are in receipt of a weekly wage in excess of 15% above the rate set out in
Table 1 - Wages of Part B, Monetary Rates for the highest grade in this award;
provided that the wage is not inclusive of overtime payments due to the
employee under this award.
(2) The exemption
rate shall be calculated in multiples of one dollar, amounts of less than 50
cents being taken to the lower multiple and amounts of 50 cents or more being
taken to the higher multiple.
28. Leave Reserved
Leave is reserved to either party to apply in respect of the
classification structure and relativities contained in Clause 1, and Part B
Monetary Rates.
29. Area, Incidence
and Duration
This award rescinds and replaces the Dental Assistants and
Secretaries (State) Award published 1 March 2002 (331 I.G. 845) and all
variations thereof.
It shall apply to all dental secretaries and/or chairside
attendants employed by dentists in the State, excluding the County of
Yancowinna.
This award shall commence on the first pay period to
commence on and from 13 October 2003 and remain in force for a period of 24
months.
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 - Wages
(i) Adults:
|
Level
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
|
|
Operative from
first
|
Operative from
first
|
Operative from
first
|
Operative from
first
|
|
|
full pay period to
|
full pay period to
|
full pay period to
|
full pay period to
|
|
|
commence on or
|
commence on or
|
commence on or
|
commence on or
|
|
|
after 13/10/03
|
after13/04/04
|
after 13/10/04
|
after 13/04/05
|
|
|
SWC 2003
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
|
1
|
451.70
|
463.70
|
475.70
|
487.60
|
|
2
|
451.70
|
470.63
|
489.50
|
508.50
|
|
3
|
451.70
|
481.90
|
512.10
|
542.20
|
|
4
|
451.70
|
495.76
|
539.82
|
583.90
|
|
5
|
451.70
|
515.96
|
580.22
|
644.50
|
(ii) Juniors
|
Age
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
Weekly Rate of Pay
|
|
|
Operative from
first
|
Operative from
first
|
Operative from
first
|
Operative from
first
|
|
|
full pay period to
|
full pay period to
|
full pay period to
|
full pay period to
|
|
|
commence on or
|
commence on or
|
commence on or
|
commence on or
|
|
|
after 13/10/03
|
after 13/04/04
|
after13/10/04
|
after 13/04/05
|
|
|
(SWC 2003)
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
$
|
|
At 16 years
|
|
|
|
|
|
of age
|
193.75
|
207.80
|
221.85
|
235.90
|
|
At 17 years
|
|
|
|
|
|
of age
|
223.80
|
235.20
|
246.60
|
258.00
|
|
At 18 years
|
|
|
|
|
|
of age
|
258.40
|
278.53
|
298.66
|
318.80
|
|
At 19 years
|
|
|
|
|
|
of age
|
301.00
|
322.13
|
343.26
|
364.40
|
|
At 20 years
|
|
|
|
|
|
of age
|
343.25
|
372.23
|
401.21
|
430.20
|
Table 2 -
Allowances
|
Item No.
|
Clause
|
Brief Description
|
Amount
|
|
|
|
|
(SWC 2003)
|
|
|
|
|
$
|
|
1
|
3 (ii)
|
Saturday Ordinary Time
|
11.65
|
|
2
|
4 (iv)
|
Meal money
|
9.95
|
|
3
|
17
|
Clothing allowance
|
7.00 per week
|
|
4
|
23
|
First - Aid
|
8.10 per week
|
NOTE:
The expense related allowances in this award have been
varied to take into account movements in the Consumer Price Index up to and
including the quarter ending June 2003.
M. SCHMIDT J.
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.