RETAIL INDUSTRY (STATE) TRAINING WAGE AWARD

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

Review of Award pursuant to Section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.

 

(No. IRC 1674 of 2004)

 

 

REVIEWED AWARD

 

1.          Delete paragraph (ii), of subclause (b), of clause 2, Application, of the of the award published 4 May 2001 (324 I.G. 529) and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

(ii)        Ending at the time the employer is notified that the establishment of the traineeship has been approved, or at the end of the probationary period, whichever is the later.

 

4.  Definitions

 

2.          Delete clause 4, Definitions, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

(a)        Structured Training means that training which is specified in the Training Plan which is part of the Training Contract registered with the relevant NSW Training Authority.  It includes training undertaken both on and off-the-job in a traineeship scheme and involves formal instruction, both theoretical and practical, and supervised practice.  The training reflects the requirements of a Traineeship approved by the relevant NSW Training Authority and leads to a qualification set out in clause 5(f).

 

(b)        Parent Award means an award listed in clause 9 - Area, Incidence and Duration

 

(c)        Relevant Union means a union party to the making of the Parent Award and which is entitled to enrol the Trainee as a member.

 

(d)        Trainee is an individual who is a signatory to a Training Contract registered with the relevant NSW Training Authority and is involved in paid work and Structured Training which may be on or off the job.  A trainee can be full-time, part-time or school-based.

 

(e)        Traineeship means a system of training which has been approved by the relevant NSW Training Authority, and includes full time traineeships and part time traineeships including school-based traineeships.

 

(f)         Training Contract means a contract entered into for the purposes of establishing a traineeship under the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 (NSW).

 

(g)        Training Plan means a programme of training which forms part of a Training Contract registered with the Relevant NSW Training Authority.

 

(h)        School-Based Trainee is a student enrolled in the Higher School Certificate, or equivalent qualification, who is undertaking a traineeship which forms a recognised component of their HSC curriculum, and is endorsed by the relevant NSW Training Authority and the NSW Board of Studies as such.

 

(i)         Relevant NSW Training Authority means the Department of Education and Training, or successor organisation.

 

(j)         Year 10 For the purposes of this award any person leaving school before completing Year 10 shall be deemed to have completed Year 10.

 

3.          Delete the words "Training Agreement" wherever appearing in clause 5, Training Conditions, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

Training Contract

 

4.          Delete subclauses (c), (d), (e) and (g), of clause 6, Employment Conditions, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

(c)        Where the trainee completes the qualification in the Training Contract, earlier than the time specified in the Training Contract then the traineeship may be concluded by mutual agreement.

 

(d)        A traineeship shall not be terminated before its conclusion, except in accordance with the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 (NSW), or by mutual agreement.

 

An employer who chooses not to continue the employment of a trainee upon the completion of the traineeship shall notify, in writing, the Relevant NSW Training Authority of their decision.

 

(e)        The Trainee shall be permitted to be absent from work without loss of continuity of employment and/or wages to attend the approved training in accordance with the Training Contract.

 

(g)

 

(i)         The Training Contract may restrict the circumstances under which the Trainee may work overtime and shiftwork in order to ensure the training program is successfully completed.

 

(ii)        No Trainee shall work overtime or shiftwork on their own unless consistent with the provisions of the Parent Award.

 

(iii)       No Trainee shall work shiftwork unless the relevant parties to this Award agree that such shiftwork makes satisfactory provision for Structured Training. Such training may be applied over a cycle in excess of a week, but must average over the relevant period no less than the amount of training required for non-shiftwork Trainees.

 

(iv)      The Trainee wage shall be the basis for the calculation of overtime and/or shift penalty rates prescribed by the Parent Award.

 

5.          Delete clause 7, Wages, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

7.  Wages

 

Wages - Full-Trainees

 

(a)        The weekly wages payable to full time trainees shall be as follows:

 

 

(b)        These wage rates will only apply to Trainees while they are undertaking an approved Traineeship which includes Structured Training as defined in this Award.

 

(c)        The wage rates prescribed by this clause do not apply to complete trade level training which is covered by the Apprenticeship system.

 

(d)        The rates of pay in this award include the adjustments payable under the State Wage Case of May 2000.  These adjustments may be offset against:

 

(i)         any equivalent overaward payments; and/or

 

(ii)        award wage increases since 29 May 1991 other than safety net, State Wage Case, and minimum rates adjustments.

 

(e)        Appendix A sets out the skill level of a traineeship.  The industry/skill levels contained in Appendix A are, illustrative of the appropriate levels but are not determinative of the actual skill levels (i.e., skill levels A, B or C) that may be contained in a traineeship scheme.  The determination of the appropriate skill level for the purpose of determining the appropriate wage shall be based on the following criteria:

 

(i)         Any agreement of the parties or submission by the parties

 

(ii)        The nature of the industry

 

(iii)       The total training plan

 

(iv)       Recognition that training can be undertaken in stages

 

(v)        The exit skill level in the Parent Award contemplated by the traineeship.

 

In the event that the parties disagree with such determination, it shall be open to any party to the award to seek to have the matters in dispute determined by the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales.

 

(f)         For the purposes of this provision, "out of school" shall refer only to periods out of school beyond Year 10, and shall be deemed to

 

(i)         include any period of schooling beyond Year 10 which was not part of nor contributed to a completed year of schooling;

 

(ii)        include any period during which a Trainee repeats in whole or part a year of schooling beyond Year 10;

 

(iii)       not include any period during a calendar year in which a year of schooling is completed; and

 

(iv)       have effect on an anniversary date being January 1 in each year.

 

Wages for Part-time and School-Based Trainees

 

(g)        This clause shall apply to trainees who undertake a traineeship on a part-time basis by working less than full-time ordinary hours and by undertaking the approved training at the same or lesser training time than a full-time trainee.

 

(h)        Table 5 - Hourly Rates for Trainees Who Have Left School and Table 6 - Hourly Rates for School-based Traineeships of Part B, Monetary Rates are the hourly rates of pay where the training is either fully off-the-job or where 20% of time is spent in approved training.  These rates are derived from a 38-hour week.

 

(i)         The hours for which payment shall be made are determined as follows:

 

(i)         Where the approved training for a traineeship (including a school based traineeship) is provided off-the-job by a registered training organisation, for example at school or at TAFE, these rates shall apply only to the total hours worked by the part time trainee on-the-job.

 

(ii)        Where the approved training is undertaken on-the-job or in a combination of on-the-job and off-the-job, and the average proportion of time to be spent in approved training is 20% (i.e. the same as for the equivalent full time traineeship):

 

(1)        If the training is solely on-the-job, then the total hours on-the-job shall be multiplied by the applicable hourly rate, and then 20 per cent shall be deducted.

 

(2)        If the training is partly on-the-job and partly off-the-job, then the total of all hours spent in work and training shall be multiplied by the applicable hourly rate, and then 20 per cent shall be deducted.

 

Note: 20 per cent is the average proportion of time spent in approved training which has been taken into account in setting the wage rates for most full time traineeships.

 

(iii)       Where the normal full time weekly hours are not 38 the appropriate hourly rate may be obtained by multiplying the rate in the table by 38 and then dividing by the normal full time hours.

 

(j)         For traineeships not covered by clause 7(h) above, the following formula for the calculation of wage rates shall apply:

 

The wage rate shall be pro-rata the full time rates based on variation in the amount of training and/or the amount of work over the period of the traineeship which may also be varied on the basis of the following formula:

 

 

* NOTE: 30.4 in the above formula represents 38 ordinary full time hours less the average training time for full time trainees (i.e. 20%) a pro rata adjustment will need to be made in the case where the Parent Award specifies different ordinary full time hours: for example where the ordinary weekly hours are 40, 30.4 will be replaced by 32.

 

(i)         “Full time wage rate” means the appropriate rate as set out in Table 1 - Industry/Skill Level A, Table 2 - Industry/Skill Level B, Table 3 - Industry/Skill Level C and Table 4 - School-based Traineeships of Part B, Monetary Rates.

 

(ii)        “Trainee hours” shall be the hours worked per week including the time spent in Structured Training.  For the purposes of this definition, the time spent in Structured Training may taken as an average for that particular year of the traineeship.

 

(iii)       “Average weekly training time” is based upon the length of the traineeship specified in the traineeship agreement or training agreement as follows:

 

Average Weekly Training Time	=	7.6 x 12
		length of the traineeship in months

 

NOTE 1:          7.6 in the above formula represents the average weekly training time for a full time Trainee whose ordinary hours are 38 per week.  A pro rata adjustment will need to be made in the case where the Parent Award specifies different ordinary time hours.  For example, where the ordinary weekly hours are 40, 7.6 will be replaced by 8.

 

NOTE 2:          The parties note that the Training Contract will require a Trainee to be employed for sufficient hours to complete all requirements of the traineeship, including on the job work experience and demonstration of competency.  The parties also note that this would result in the equivalent of a full day’s on the job work per week.

 

 

6.          Delete the words "he/she" appearing in paragraph (iv), of subclause (a), of clause 8, Grievance Procedures, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

the Trainee

 

7.          Delete the words "Industrial and Commercial Training Act 1989" appearing in subparagraph (i), of paragraph (v), of subclause (a), of clause 8, Grievance Procedures, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 (NSW)

 

8.          Delete the words "Industrial Relations Commission" appearing in subparagraph (ii), of paragraph (v), of subclause (a), of clause 8, Grievance Procedures, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales

 

9.          Delete subclause (i), of clause 9, Area, Incidence and Duration, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

(i)         Shop Employees (State) Award published 18 May 2001 (324 I.G. 935), as varied.

 

10.        Delete the last paragraph of clause 9, Area, Incidence and Duration, and insert in lieu thereof the following new paragraphs:

 

The changes made to the award pursuant to the Award Review pursuant to section 19(6) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 and Principle 26 of the Principles for Review of Awards made by the Industrial Relations Commission of NSW on 28 April 1999 (310 I.G. 359) and take effect on 17 July 2004.

 

This award remains in force until varied or rescinded, the period for which it was made already having expired.

 

 

 

P. J. SAMS  D.P.

 

 

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Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.