Public Hospital Medical Officers
(State) Award 2022
AWARD REPRINT
This reprint of
the abovementioned award is published by the authority of the Industrial
Registrar under section 390 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996, and
under Rule 6.6 of the Industrial Relations Commission Rules 2022.
I certify that the
form of this reprint, incorporating the variations set out in the schedule, is
correct as at the latest date of effect therein mentioned.
K. JONES,
Industrial Registrar
Schedule of Variations
Incorporated
Variation Serial No.
|
Date of Publication
|
Effective Date
|
Industrial Gazette Reference
|
|
|
|
Volume
|
Page
No.
|
C9839
|
23
June 2024
|
1
July 2024
|
396
|
963
|
AWARD
PART A
Arrangement
Clause No. Subject Matter
1. Definition
2. Salaries
3. Payment
of Salaries
4. Qualification
Allowance
5. In-charge
Allowance
6. Hours
of Work
7. Part-Time
Employees
8. Penalty
Rates
9. Time
Worked
10. Meal
Breaks
11. Overtime
12. On
Call and Call Back
13. Higher
Duties Allowance
14. Annual
Leave
15. Public
Holidays
16. Sick
Leave
17. Maternity,
Adoption and Parental Leave
17A. Lactation
Breaks
18. Family
and Community Services Leave and Personal/Carer’s Leave
18A. Family
Violence Leave
19. Long
Service Leave
20. Board
and Accommodation
21. Uniform
and Laundry Allowances
22. Termination
of Employment
23. Settlement
of Disputes
24. Anti-Discrimination
25. Study
Leave
26. Travelling
Allowances
27. Mobility,
Excess Fares and Travelling
28. Secondment
29. Relocation
Expenses
30. Labour Flexibility
31. Salary
Packaging
32. Reasonable
Hours
33. Salary
Sacrifice to Superannuation
34. No
Extra Claims
35. Area,
Incidence and Duration
PART B
Table 1 - Allowances and Other Rates
PART C
PART A
1.
Definitions
"Award"
means the Public Hospital Medical Officers (State) Award 2023.
"Employer"
means the Secretary of the Ministry of Health exercising employer functions on
behalf of the Government of New South Wales (and includes a delegate of the
Secretary).
"Health
Service" means a Local Health District constituted under section 8 of the Health Services Act 1997, a Statutory
Health Corporation constituted under section 11 of that Act, and an Affiliated
Health Organisation constituted under section 13 of that Act.
"Higher
Medical Qualifications" means such qualifications obtained by a medical
practitioner subsequent to graduation and includes:
(i) post-graduate
university degrees and diplomas recognised by the
Medical Board of Australia as qualifications, or
(ii) membership or fellowship of the Royal
College or Royal Australasian College of Physicians or fellowship of the Royal
College or Royal Australasian College of Surgeons or membership or fellowship
of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,
or
(iii) such other post-graduate qualifications
obtained by examination and recognised by the Medical
Board of Australia and acceptable to the employer, including fellowship of the
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
"Hospital"
means a public hospital as defined under section 15 of the Health Services Act 1997.
"Intern" means a medical officer
serving in a hospital prior to obtaining full registration with the Medical
Board of Australia pursuant to the Health
Practitioner Regulation National Law Act.
"Registrar" means a medical
officer who:
(i) has had at
least three years' experience in public hospital service as defined under this
Award; or
(ii) has had at least two years' experience in
public hospital service and is training under an accredited training program
which allows the medical officer to occupy the position of registrar in their
third year of post graduate training;
and
(iii) is appointed as a registrar by a hospital,
and
(iv) is occupying a position of registrar in an established
position as approved by the employer.
"Resident" means a medical
officer who has obtained full registration.
"Secretary"
means the Secretary of the Ministry of Health.
"Senior Registrar" means a
registrar holding higher medical qualifications and occupying a position of
senior registrar in an established position as approved by the employer.
"Service" for the purpose of
clause 2, Salaries, means service before and/or after the commencement of this
Award in one or more hospitals or in other institutions approved from time to
time by agreement between the parties of this Award. It shall include service as a medical officer
in the Australian Armed Forces and service, whether continuous or not, in other
hospitals within the Commonwealth of Australia.
"Union" means the Health
Services Union NSW and the Australian Salaried Medical Officers' Federation
(New South Wales).
"Weekly Rates" will be
ascertained by dividing an annual amount by 52.17857 or a weekly rate can be
multiplied by 52.17857 to obtain the annual amount.
2.
Salaries
Full-time
Medical Officer employees shall be paid the salaries as set out in the Health Professional and Medical Salaries
(State) Award.
3.
Payment of Salaries
(i) All salaries
and other payments shall be paid fortnightly.
(ii) Employees shall have their salary paid
into one account with a bank or other financial institution in New South Wales
as nominated by the employee, except where agreement as to another method of
payment has been reached between the Union and the employer due to the
isolation of the work location.
(iii) Salaries shall be deposited by the employer
in sufficient time to ensure that wages are available for withdrawal by employees
no later than pay day, provided that this requirement shall not apply where
employees nominate accounts with non-bank financial institutions which lack the
technological or other facilities to process salary deposits within 24 hours of
the employer making deposits with such financial institutions, but in such
cases the employer shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that the wages of
such employees are available for withdrawal by no later than pay day.
(iv) Penalty rates and overtime worked during
the second week of the pay fortnight may be paid to employees in the next pay
period by the employer.
(v) Subject to adequate notice in writing on
each occasion, employees who are rostered off on pay day shall be entitled to
have their salary deposited before proceeding on their day or days off.
(vi) Underpayment and overpayment of salaries -
the following process will apply once the issue of underpayment or overpayment
is substantiated.
(a) Underpayment
(1) If the amount underpaid is equal to or
greater than one day’s gross base pay the underpayment
will be rectified within three working days.
(2) If the amount underpaid is less than one
day’s gross base pay it will be rectified by no later than the next normal pay.
However, if the employee can demonstrate that rectification in this manner
would result in undue hardship, every effort will be made by the employer to
rectify the underpayment within three working days.
(b) Overpayment
(1) In all cases where overpayments have
occurred, the employer shall as soon as possible advise the employee concerned
of both the circumstances surrounding the overpayment and the amount
involved. The employer will also advise
the employee of the pay period from which the recovery of the overpayment is to
commence.
(2) One off overpayments
will be recovered in the next normal pay, except that where the employee can
demonstrate that undue hardship would result, the recover
rate shall be at 10% of an employee’s gross fortnightly base pay.
(3) Unless the employee agrees otherwise, the
maximum rate at which cumulative overpayments can be recovered is an amount,
calculated on a per fortnight basis, equivalent to 10% of the employee’s gross
fortnightly base pay.
(4) The recovery rate of 10% of an employee’s
gross fortnightly base pay referred to in subclause (b)(3) above may be reduced
by agreement, where the employee can demonstrate that undue hardship would
result.
(5) Where an employee’s remaining period of
service does not permit the full recovery of any overpayment to be achieved on
the fortnightly basis prescribed in subclause (b)(3) above, the employer shall
have the right to deduct any balance of such overpayment from monies owing to
the employee on the employee’s date of termination, resignation or retirement, as the case may be.
4.
Qualification Allowance
An
allowance detailed in the Medical Officers section of the Health Professional and Medical Salaries Award shall be paid to
officers who obtain an appropriate higher medical qualification subject to
graduation.
Provided
that this clause shall not apply to an officer who is appointed as a Senior
Registrar, the salary rate prescribed in clause 2, Salaries, of this Award for
such position having taken into account that a higher
medical qualification is a prerequisite for appointment.
Provided
further that, where an officer in his/her fifth and subsequent years of
training is expected to meet the formal requirements of a higher medical
qualification in that year, he/she shall be paid half the qualification
allowance.
5.
In-Charge Allowance
An
allowance as set out in Item 1 of Table 1, Allowances, shall be paid to medical
officers for each twelve hours, or part thereof, of continuous in-charge duty
for responsibility for after-hours medical services.
6.
Hours of Work
(i) The ordinary
hours of work shall not exceed an average of 38 hours per week. This shall be achieved by rostering officers
for duty over either forty hours in any period of seven consecutive days or
eighty hours in any period of fourteen consecutive days and, in addition, then
granting officers roster leave additional to that prescribed in subclause (ii)
of this clause to the extent of one additional day per calendar month. Such additional roster leave may accumulate
to a maximum of three days and shall be granted in multiples of one day. Upon termination of employment an officer
shall be paid the monetary value of any untaken additional roster leave,
calculated at the officer's ordinary time rate of pay as prescribed by clause
2, Salaries, of this Award.
(ii) Officers shall be free from ordinary hours
of duty for not less than two days in each week or, where this is not
practicable, four days in each fortnight.
Where practicable, days off shall be consecutive and where possible
additional rostered days off shall be combined with other rostered time off.
(iii) No shift shall be less than four hours in
length.
(iv) No broken or split shifts shall be worked.
(v) All time worked in
excess of ten hours in any one shift shall be paid as if it were
overtime.
(vi) Where in any pay period, an officer is not employed
by a hospital for the whole of the pay period, the ordinary hours of work for
the purpose of calculating salary for that pay period (i.e., 38 or 76 hours)
will be adjusted by the following factor, rounded to the nearest whole number:
Number of calendar days
employed
|
Number of calendar days in pay
period
|
(vii) Officers shall be given at least two weeks'
notice of rosters to be worked in relation to ordinary hours of work and also, where practicable, in relation to additional
(overtime) rostered hours of work, provided that the employer may change the
rosters without notice to meet any emergent situation. This clause shall not apply in respect of the
granting by the employer of additional roster leave pursuant to this clause.
7.
Part-Time Employees
(i) Medical
officers engaged on a part-time basis as at 1 June
1993 under the provisions of Agreement No 1 of 1975 made in accordance with
section 40BA of the Public Hospitals Act
1929, were able to elect to be employed as part-time employees under the
provisions of this clause. Part-time
employees who did not make such an election continue to be subject to the
provisions of Agreement No. 1 of 1975 (see Ministry of Health Policy Directive
PD2005_474) in lieu of the provisions of this clause.
(ii) A part-time medical officer is one who is
appointed by the employer to work a specified number of hours which are less
than those prescribed for the same classification employed on a full-time basis
under this Award.
(iii) A part-time medical officer shall be
entitled to all other benefits of this Award not expressly provided for herein
in the same proportion as their ordinary hours of work bear to full-time
hours.
(iv) A part-time medical officer shall be paid
an hourly rate calculated on the basis of one
thirty-eighth of the appropriate rate prescribed for the same classification
employed on a full-time basis under clause 2, Salaries of this Award with a
minimum payment for two hours for each start.
(v) A part-time medical officer shall not be
entitled to an additional day off or part thereof as prescribed in subclause
(ii) of clause 6, Hours of Work of this Award.
(vi) Annual Leave
A part-time medical officer shall
be granted on completion of each 12 months service four weeks annual leave on
ordinary pay.
(vii) Overtime
(a) Overtime shall be paid for at the rate of
time and one half for the first two hours and double time for the remaining
hours worked provided that all overtime performed on Sundays shall be paid for
at the rate of double time.
(b) Overtime will be paid to part-time
medical officers as follows:
(1) All time worked in
excess of the ordinary hours as prescribed in clause 6 Hours of Work of
this Award; or
(2) All time worked in
excess of ten hours in any one shift.
(viii) Public Holidays
(a) For the purposes of this clause, public
holidays are as set out in subclause (iv) of clause 15, Public Holidays of this
Award.
(b) A public holiday occurring on a part-time
medical officer’s ordinary working day shall be allowed to employees without
loss of pay.
(c) Where a part-time medical officer is
required to and does work on a public holiday, the medical officer shall have
their ordinary rostered hours on that day added to the period of their annual
leave for each public holiday so worked unless time off in respect of time
worked on any such public holiday has already been granted to the medical
officer.
(d) Hours worked on public holidays shall be
paid at the rate of time and one half.
8.
Penalty Rates
Any
ordinary hours worked between the following hours shall be paid at ordinary
time plus the appropriate penalty rate.
(i) Hours worked
between 6.00 p.m. and midnight, Monday to Friday - 12.5 per cent.
(ii) Midnight and 7.00 a.m., midnight Sunday to
midnight Friday - 25 per cent.
(iii) Midnight Friday and midnight Saturday - 50
per cent.
(iv) Midnight Saturday and midnight Sunday - 75
per cent.
9.
Time Worked
Time
worked means the time during which an officer is required by the employer to be
in attendance at a hospital for the purpose of carrying out such functions as
the employer may call on him/her to perform, and it shall include times when
the officer, in waiting to carry out some active function, is studying or
resting or sleeping or engaged in any other activity.
Provided
that time worked does not include breaks allowed and actually
taken for meals.
Provided
further that where an officer attends of his/her own volition outside of hours
rostered on duty, or where an officer remains in attendance when formally
released from the obligation to perform professional duties, the employer shall
not be liable to make any payment for such attendance.
10.
Meal Breaks
The
principles to be applied by the employer in relation to meal breaks for
Resident Medical Officers are outlined in Ministry of Health Circular No.
88/251.
Day
Shifts - Monday to Friday
(i) Subclauses
(ii) to (v) apply to a shift of rostered hours commencing at or after 7.00am
and finishing no later than 7.00pm.
(ii) In the interests of patient care and the
health and welfare of medical staff, officers must have a break from duty for
the purpose of taking a meal.
(iii) There shall be a uniform meal break of 30
minutes except where locally agreed arrangements for a longer period are made
(which shall not exceed one hour).
(iv) If officers are required to work during
their meal break they shall be paid for the time
worked.
(v) Medical Administrators are to establish
simple and effective procedures in consultation with officers to record when
staff are required to work through their meal break and to ensure that payment
is made.
Shifts
Other than Day Shifts - Monday to Friday
(vi) Subclause (vii) below applies to shifts
other than those referred to in subclause (i) above.
(vii) The arrangements outlined in Circular No.
83/250 of 19 August, 1983 in relation to meal breaks
during shifts other than Day Shifts, Monday to Friday, will continue to apply.
11.
Overtime
(i) All time
worked by officers in excess of the ordinary hours
specified in clause 6, Hours of Work, of this Award, shall be paid at the rate
of time and one-half for the first two hours, and double time thereafter
provided that all overtime performed on a Sunday, shall be at double time.
(ii) An officer who works authorised
overtime and was not notified on or prior to his/her previous shift of the
requirement to work such overtime shall be paid in addition to payment for such
overtime:
(a) as set out in Item 2 of Table 1,
Allowances, for breakfast when commencing such overtime work at or before 6.00 a.m.;
(b) as set out in Item 2 of Table 1,
Allowances, for an evening meal when such overtime is worked for at least one
hour immediately following his/her normal ceasing time, exclusive of any meal
break and extends beyond or is worked wholly after 7.00 p.m.;
(c) as set out in Item 2 of Table 1,
Allowances, for luncheon when such overtime extends beyond 2.00 p.m. on
Saturdays, Sundays or holidays;
or shall be provided with adequate
meals in lieu of such payments.
The rates prescribed in this
subclause shall be varied in accordance with any variations in the rates
payable under Crown Employees (Public
Service Conditions of Employment) Award.
12.
On Call and Call Back
(i) An "on
call period" is a period during which an officer is required by the
employer to be on call. The forms of on call are:
(a) "on call (clinical) duty" means
the officer is required by the employer to hold themselves in readiness and to
provide remote clinical support or attend a hospital to perform work as
clinically appropriate, if called upon to do so; or
(b) "on call (relief) duty” means the
officer is required by the employer to hold themselves in readiness to attend a
hospital to perform work in the event of an emergent situation if called upon
to do so, but not to provide remote clinical support.
(ii) For the purposes of calculation of payment
of on-call allowances and for call-back duty (where an officer on call is
called upon to attend a hospital to perform work), an on-call period shall not
exceed 24 hours.
(iii) An officer shall be paid for each on-call
period which coincides with a day rostered on duty an allowance as set out in
Item 3 of Table 1, Allowances, and for each on-call period coinciding with a
day not rostered on duty an allowance as set in the said Item 3, as applicable
to the type of on-call for which the officer is rostered.
(iv) Subject to subclauses (v) - (x) below,
officers who are required to attend a hospital to perform any work, whether
notified before or after leaving the employer’s premises, shall be paid for all
time worked at the appropriate overtime rate, with a minimum of four hours at
such rates.
(v) Once an officer is in
attendance at a hospital, they may be required to perform work other
than that for which they were originally recalled. Officers shall not be
required to work the full four hour minimum payment
period if they complete the work they were recalled to perform and any
additional work they are required to undertake, within a shorter period.
(vi) The employer must have processes in place
for the formal release of officers from recall duty.
(vii) Officers who are not formally released and
who are recalled again during the four hour minimum
payment period are not entitled to any additional payment until the expiration
of the four hour period.
(viii) Officers who are advised they will not be
required to perform any additional work and are formally released and who are
subsequently recalled again during the four hour
minimum payment period, shall be entitled to another four hour minimum payment.
(ix) The allowances in Item 3 of Table 1,
Allowances compensate an officer for all of their time
on call other than time performing call-back duty in accordance with subclause
(iv). To avoid any doubt:
(a) an officer who is on call is not entitled
to be paid any additional amount for time spent answering a call or time spent
travelling to a hospital to perform call-back duty;
(b) an officer on on-call (clinical) duty is
not entitled to any additional payment for time spent providing remote clinical
support; and
(c) time referred to in subclauses (a) and
(b) does not count as time worked for the purposes of this award.
(x) Where clinically appropriate, an officer
on on-call (clinical) duty must provide technology support resolution or
clinical support remotely.
13.
Higher Duties Allowance
An
employee who is called upon to relieve an employee in a higher classification
continuously for five working days or more and who satisfactorily performs the
whole of the duties and assumes the whole of the responsibilities of the higher
classification, shall be entitled to receive, for the period of relief, the
minimum pay of such higher classification.
14.
Annual Leave
(i) All officers
shall be allowed four calendar weeks’ leave of absence on full pay in respect
of each twelve months' service plus one day on full pay in respect of each
public holiday occurring within the period of such leave.
(ii) Officers who are required to work on
Sundays and/or public holidays during a qualifying period of employment for
annual leave purposes shall be entitled to receive additional annual leave in
respect of each complete period of eight hours so worked as follows:
(a) if 35 or more such periods on such days
have been worked - one week;
(b) if less than 35 such periods on such days
have been worked - leave proportionately calculated on the basis of 38 hours
leave for 35 such periods worked;
(c) work performed by reason of call backs
pursuant to clause 12, On Call and Call Back, of this Award shall be
disregarded when assessing an officer's entitlement under the subclause.
(d) The calculations referred to in
paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subclause shall be made to the nearest one-fifth
of the ordinary hours worked, half or more than half of one-fifth being
regarded as one-fifth and less than half being disregarded.
(e) An officer with accrued additional annual
leave pursuant to this subclause can elect at any time to be paid an amount
equivalent to the value of accrued additional annual leave in lieu of taking
additional leave, provided that the amount is a minimum of one weeks’ accrued
additional leave and that the salary for the period of additional leave paid
out will be calculated as if the period of leave was actually taken.
(iii) Annual leave shall be given and shall be
taken in one consecutive period, or, if the officer and the employer so agree,
in either two or three separate periods, but not otherwise.
(iv) Annual leave shall be given and shall be
taken within a period of six months after the date when the right to annual
leave accrued; provided that the giving and taking of the whole or any separate
period of such annual leave may, by mutual agreement between the employer and
the officer, be postponed for a further period not exceeding six months.
(v) If the officer and the employer so agree,
the annual leave or any such separate periods, may be taken wholly or partly in
advance before the officer has become entitled to that leave, but where leave
is taken in such circumstances a further period of annual leave shall not
commence to accrue until the expiration of the twelve months in respect of
which the annual leave or part thereof has been so taken.
(vi) Except as provided by this clause, payment
shall not be made by the employer to an officer in lieu of any annual leave or
part thereof nor shall any such payment be accepted by the officer.
(vii) The employer shall give the officer at least
two months' notice of the date from which his or her annual leave is to be
taken.
(viii) The employer shall pay each officer before
entering upon annual leave his or her ordinary rate of salary for the period of
leave. For the purposes of this
subclause "ordinary rate of salary" means the Award rate of salary
and qualification allowance if applicable.
(ix) Where the employment of an officer is
terminated, the officer shall be entitled to receive proportionate payment for
each completed month of service together with such additional annual leave
entitlements due under subclause (ii).
All payments are to be made at the rate of salary to which such officer
is entitled under this Award.
(x) Where the annual leave under this clause
or any part thereof has been taken in advance by an officer pursuant to
subclause (v), of this clause; and
(a) the employment of the officer is
terminated before he/she has completed the year of employment in respect of
which such annual leave or part was taken; and
(b) the sum paid by the employer to the
officer as ordinary pay for the annual leave or part so taken in advance
exceeds the sum which the employer is required to pay to the officer under
subclause (ix) of this clause;
(c) the employer shall not be liable to make
any payment to the officer under the said subclause (ix) and shall be entitled
to deduct the amount of such excess from any remuneration payable to the
officer upon the termination of the employment.
NOTATION: The conditions under when
the annual leave loading shall be paid to officers are the same as generally
applied through circulars issued by the Ministry of Health.
15.
Public Holidays
(i) Public
Holidays shall be allowed to officers on full pay.
(ii) Where an officer is required to, and does work on any of the public holidays set out in
this clause, the officer shall be paid for the hours worked at the rate of time
and one-half. In addition, the officer shall have one day added to annual leave
for each public holiday so worked unless time off in respect of time worked on
such public holiday has been granted.
(iii) Where a public holiday falls on a rostered day
off, the officer shall have one day added to annual leave.
(iv) Provided that an employee who has accrued
additional annual leave referred to in subclauses (ii) and (iii) of this clause
can elect at any time to be paid an amount equivalent to the value of the
accrued additional annual leave in lieu of taking additional leave, provided
that the amount is a minimum of one weeks’ accrued additional leave and that
the salary for the period of additional leave paid out will be calculated as if
the period of leave as actually taken.
(v) For the purpose of this clause the
following shall be deemed to be public holidays: New Year's Day, Australia Day, Good Friday,
Easter Saturday, Easter Monday, Anzac Day, Queen's Birthday, Eight Hour Day,
Christmas Day, Boxing Day, or in lieu of any such day any holiday proclaimed in
lieu thereof, together with any other day duly proclaimed as a special day and
observed as a public holiday within the area in which the hospital is situated.
16.
Sick Leave
(i) An officer
shall be allowed sick leave on full pay calculated by allowing 76
"ordinary" hours per year for each year of continuous service less
any sick leave on full pay already taken, subject to the following conditions:
(a) the employer may require the sickness to
be certified to by the medical superintendent or by a legally qualified medical
practitioner approved by the employer, or may require other satisfactory
evidence thereof;
(b) an officer shall not be entitled to sick leave
until the expiration of three months' continuous service;
(c) each officer shall take all reasonably
practicable steps to inform the employer of his or her inability to attend for
duty and as far as possible state the estimated duration of the absence. Where practicable such notice shall be given
within twenty-four hours of the commencement of such absence;
(d) an officer shall not be entitled to sick
leave on full pay for any period in respect of which such officer is entitled
to accident pay or workers' compensation; provided, however, that where an
officer is not in receipt of accident pay an employer shall pay to an officer
who has sick leave entitlements under this clause, the difference between the
amount received as workers' compensation and full pay. The officer's sick leave entitlements under
this clause shall, for each week during which such difference is paid, be
reduced by that proportion of hours which the difference paid bears to full
pay. On the expiration of available sick
leave, weekly compensation payments only shall be payable;
(e) an officer is not eligible for sick leave
during periods when he/she would have normally been rostered on overtime shifts;
(f) an officer is not entitled to more than
8 hours' sick leave in respect of any one day.
(ii) Continuous service for the purpose of this
clause shall be calculated in the same manner as provided for in paragraph (a)
of subclause (ii) of clause 19, Long Service Leave, of this Award.
(iii) Full pay for the purpose of this clause
shall include the uniform allowance where payable, under clause 21, Uniform and
Laundry Allowance, of this Award.
(iv) The employer shall not terminate the
services of an officer except on the grounds of misconduct during the currency
of any periods of paid sick leave.
(v) Sick leave as defined, shall accrue and
be transferable between hospitals, at the rate of 76 hours per year of
continuous service, minus hours taken.
17.
Maternity, Adoption and Parental Leave
A. Maternity Leave
(i) Eligibility
for Paid Maternity Leave
To be eligible for paid maternity
leave a full-time or permanent part-time employee must have completed at least
40 weeks’ continuous service prior to the expected date of birth.
An employee who has once met the
conditions for paid maternity leave will not be required to again work the 40
weeks continuous service in order to qualify for a
further period of paid maternity leave, unless-
(a) there has been a break in service where
the employee has been re-employed or re-appointed after a resignation, medical
retirement, or after her services have been otherwise dispensed with: or
(b) the employee has completed a period of
leave without pay of more than 40 weeks.
In this context, leave without pay does not include sick leave without
pay, maternity leave without pay, or leave without pay
associated with an illness or injury compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act 1987 as varied from time to time.
(ii) Portability of Service for Paid Maternity
Leave
Portability of service for paid
maternity leave involves the recognition of service in government sector
agencies for the purpose of determining an employee's eligibility to receive
paid maternity leave. For example, where
an employee moves between a public service department and a public hospital,
previous continuous service will be counted towards the service prerequisite
for paid maternity leave.
When determining an employee's
eligibility for paid maternity leave, continuous service with an organisation that is part of the government sector as
defined in the Government Sector
Employment Act 2013 will be recognised, provided
that:
(a) service was on a full-time or permanent
part-time basis:
(b) cessation of service with the former
employer was not by reason of dismissal on any ground, except retrenchment or
reduction of work;
(c) the employee immediately commences duty
with the new employer. There may be a
break in service of up to two months before commencing duty with the new
employer. However, such a break in
service will not be counted as service for the purpose of calculating any prior
service prerequisite for paid maternity leave.
(iii) Entitlement to Paid Maternity Leave
An eligible employee is entitled to
fourteen weeks at the ordinary rate of pay from the date maternity leave
commences. This leave may commence up to
fourteen weeks prior to the expected date of birth.
It is not compulsory for an
employee to take this period off work. However, if an employee decides to work
during the nine weeks prior to the date of birth it is subject to the employee
being able to satisfactorily perform the full range of normal duties.
Paid maternity leave may be paid:
on a normal fortnightly basis; or
in advance in a lump sum; or
at the rate of half pay over a
period of twenty-eight weeks on a regular fortnightly basis.
Annual and/or long service leave
credits can be combined with periods of maternity leave on half pay to enable
an employee to remain on full pay for that period.
(iv) Unpaid Maternity Leave
(a) Full-time and permanent part-time
employees who are entitled to paid maternity leave are entitled to a further
period of unpaid maternity leave of not more than 12 months after the actual
date of birth.
(b) Full-time and permanent part-time
employees who are not eligible for paid maternity leave are entitled to unpaid
maternity leave of not more than 12 months.
(v) Applications
An employee who intends to proceed
on maternity leave should formally notify her employer of such intention as
early as possible, so that arrangements associated with her absence can be
made.
Written notice of not less than eight
weeks prior to the commencement of the leave should accordingly be given. This notice must include a medical
certificate stating the expected date of birth and should also indicate the
period of leave desired.
(vi) Variation after Commencement of Leave
After commencing maternity leave,
an employee may vary the period of her maternity leave once only without the
consent of her employer by giving the employer notice in writing of the
extended period at least fourteen days’ before the
start of the extended period. An employer may accept less notice if convenient.
An employee may extend the period
of maternity leave at any time with the agreement of the employer.
The conditions relating to
variation of maternity leave are derived from section 64 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.
(vii) Staffing Provisions
In accordance with obligations
established by the Industrial Relations
Act 1996 (section 69) any person who occupies the position of an
employee on maternity leave must be informed that the employee has the right to
return to her former position. Additionally, since an employee has the right to
vary the period of her maternity leave, offers of temporary employment should
be in writing, stating clearly the temporary nature of the contract of
employment. The duration of employment
should be also set down clearly; to a fixed date or until the employee elects
to return to duty, whichever occurs first.
(viii) Effect of Maternity Leave on Accrual of
Leave, Increments etc.
When the employee has resumed
duties, any period of full pay leave is counted in full for the accrual of
annual leave, sick leave and long service leave and any period of maternity
leave on half pay is taken into account to the extent
of one half thereof when determining the accrual of annual leave, sick leave
and long service leave.
Except in the case of employees who
have completed ten years' service the period of maternity leave without pay
does not count as service for long service leave purposes. Where the employee has completed ten years' service
the period of maternity leave without pay shall count as service provided such
leave does not exceed six months.
Maternity leave without pay does
not count as service for incremental purposes.
Periods of maternity leave at full pay and at half pay are to be
regarded as service for incremental progression on a pro-rata basis.
Where public holidays occur during
the period of paid maternity leave, payment is at the rate of maternity leave
received i.e., public holidays occurring in a period of full pay maternity
leave are paid at full rate and those occurring during a period of half pay
leave are paid at half rate.
(ix) Illness Associated with Pregnancy
If, because of an illness associated
with her pregnancy an employee is unable to continue to work then she can elect
to use any available paid leave (sick, annual and/or long service leave) or to
take sick leave without pay.
Where an employee is entitled to
paid maternity leave, but because of illness, is on sick, annual, long service
leave, or sick leave without pay prior to the birth, such leave ceases nine
weeks prior to the expected date of birth.
The employee then commences maternity leave with the normal provisions
applying.
(x) Transfer to a More Suitable Position
Where, because of an illness or
risk associated with her pregnancy, an employee cannot carry out the duties of
her position, an employer is obliged, as far as practicable, to provide
employment in some other position that she is able to satisfactorily perform. This obligation arises from section 70 of the
Industrial Relations Act 1996. A position to which an employee is
transferred under these circumstances must be as close as possible in status
and salary to her substantive position.
(xi) Miscarriages
In the event of a miscarriage any
absence from work is to be covered by the current sick leave provisions.
(xii) Stillbirth
In the case of a stillbirth, (as
classified by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages) an employee may
elect to take sick leave, subject to production of a medical certificate, or
maternity leave. She may resume duty at
any time provided she produces a doctor's certificate as to her fitness.
(xiii) Effect of Premature Birth on Payment of
Maternity Leave
An employee who gives birth
prematurely and prior to proceeding on maternity leave shall be treated as
being on maternity leave from the date leave is commenced to have the
child. Should an employee return to duty
during the period of paid maternity leave, such paid leave ceases from the date
duties are resumed.
(xiv) Right to Return to Previous Position
In accordance with the obligations
set out in section 66 of the Industrial
Relations Act 1996, an employee returning from maternity leave has the
right to resume her former position.
Where this position no longer
exists the employee is entitled to be placed in a position nearest in status
and salary to that of her former position and to which the employee is capable
or qualified.
(xv) Further Pregnancy While on Maternity Leave
Where an employee becomes pregnant
whilst on maternity leave a further period of maternity leave shall be granted.
If an employee enters on the second period of maternity leave during the
currency of the initial period of maternity leave, then any residual maternity
leave from the initial entitlement ceases.
An employee who commences a
subsequent period of maternity leave while on unpaid maternity leave under
subclause (iv)(a) of Part A of this clause or subclause (i)(b)
of Part D of this clause is entitled to be paid at their normal rate (i.e. the
rate at which they were paid before proceeding on maternity leave).
An employee who commences a
subsequent period of maternity leave during the first 12 months of a return to
duty on a part-time basis as provided under subclause (i)(c)
of Part D of this clause is entitled to be paid at their substantive full-time
rate for the subsequent period of maternity leave.
An employee who commences a
subsequent period of maternity leave more than 12 months after returning to
duty on a part-time basis under subclause (i)(c) of
Part D of this clause, will be entitled to paid maternity leave for the
subsequent period of maternity leave at their part-time rate.
B. Adoption Leave
(i) Eligibility
All full-time and permanent
part-time employees who are adopting a child and are to be the primary care
giver of the child are eligible for unpaid adoption leave.
To be eligible for paid adoption
leave a full-time or permanent part-time employee must also have completed at
least 40 weeks continuous service prior to the date of taking custody of the
child.
An employee who has once met the conditions
of paid adoption leave, will not be required to again work the 40 weeks
continuous service in order to qualify for further
periods of paid adoption leave, unless
(a) there has been a break in service where
the employee has been re-employed or re-appointed after a resignation, medical
retirement, or after their services have been otherwise dispensed with; or
(b) the employee has completed a period of
leave without pay of more than 40 weeks.
In this context, leave without pay does not include sick leave without
pay, maternity leave without pay, or leave without pay
associated with an illness or injury compensable under the Worker's
Compensation Act.
(ii) Portability of Service for Paid Adoption
Leave
As per maternity leave conditions.
(iii) Entitlement
(a) Paid Adoption Leave
Eligible employees are entitled to
paid adoption leave of fourteen weeks at the ordinary rate of pay from and
including the date of taking custody of the child.
Paid adoption leave may be paid:
on a normal fortnightly basis; or
in advance in a lump sum; or
at the rate of half pay over a
period of twenty-eight weeks on a regular fortnightly basis.
Annual and/or long service leave
credits can be combined with periods of adoption leave at half pay to enable an
employee to remain on full pay for that period.
(b) Unpaid Adoption Leave
Eligible employees are entitled to
unpaid adoption leave as follows:
where the child is under the age of
12 months - a period of not more than 12 months from the date of taking custody;
where the child is over the age of
12 months and under 18 years old - a period of up to 12 months, such period to
be agreed upon by both the employee and the employer.
(iv) Applications
Due to
the fact that an employee may be given little notice of
the date of taking custody of a child, employees who believe that, in the
reasonably near future, they will take custody of a child, should formally
notify the employer as early as practicable of the intention to take adoption
leave. This will allow arrangements
associated with the adoption leave to be made.
(v) Variation after Commencement of Leave
After commencing adoption leave, an
employee may vary the period of leave, once without the consent of the employer
and otherwise with the consent of the employer. A minimum of fourteen days’
notice must be given, although an employer may accept less notice if
convenient.
(vi) Staffing Provisions
As per maternity leave conditions.
(vii) Effect of Adoption Leave on Accrual of
Leave, Increments, etc.
As per maternity leave conditions.
(viii) Right to return to Previous Position
As per maternity leave conditions.
C. Parental Leave
(i) Eligibility
To be eligible for parental leave a
full-time or permanent part-time employee must have completed at least 40 weeks
continuous service prior to the expected date of birth or to the date of taking
custody of the child.
An employee who has once met the
conditions for paid parental leave will not be required to again work the 40
weeks continuous service in order to qualify for a
further period of paid parental leave, unless -
(a) there has been a break in service where
the employee has been re-employed or re-appointed after a resignation, medical
retirement, or after their services have been otherwise dispensed with; or
(b) the employee has completed a period of
leave without pay of more than 40 weeks.
In this context, leave without pay does not include sick leave without
pay, maternity leave without pay, or leave without pay
associated with an illness or injury compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act 1987 as varied from time to time.
(ii) Portability of Service for Paid Parental
Leave
As per maternity leave conditions.
(iii) Entitlements
Eligible employees whose spouse or
partner (including a same sex partner) is pregnant or is taking custody of a
child, are entitled to a period of leave not exceeding 52 weeks, which includes
one week of paid leave, and may be taken as follows:
(a) an unbroken period of up to one week at
the time of the birth of the child, taking custody of the child or other
termination of the pregnancy (short parental leave), and
(b) a further unbroken period in order to be the primary caregiver of the child (extended
parental leave).
(c) The entitlement of one week’s paid leave
may be taken at anytime within the 52
week period and shall be paid:
at the employees
ordinary rate of pay for a period not exceeding one week on full pay, or
- two weeks at half pay or the
period of parental leave taken, whichever is the lesser period.
(d) Extended parental leave cannot be taken
at the same time as the employee’s spouse or partner is on maternity or
adoption leave except as provided for in subclause (i)(a)
of Part D Right to Request of this clause.
Annual and/or long service leave credits
can be combined with periods of parental leave on half pay to enable an
employee to remain on full pay for that period.
(iv) Applications
An employee who intends to proceed
on parental leave should formally notify their employer of such intention as
early as possible, so that arrangements associated with their absence can be
made.
(a) In the case of extended parental leave,
the employee should give written notice of the intention to take the
leave.
(b) The employee must, at least four weeks
before proceeding on leave, give written notice of the dates on which they
propose to start and end the period of leave, although it is recognised in situations of taking custody of a child,
little or no notice may be provided to the employee. In such an instance, the
employee should notify the employer as early as practicable.
(c) The employee must, before the start of
leave, provide a certificate from a medical practitioner confirming that their
spouse or partner is pregnant and the expected date of birth, or in the case of
an adoption, an official form or notification on taking custody of the child.
(d) In the case of extended parental leave, the
employee must, before the start of leave, provide a statutory declaration by
the employee stating:
(1) if applicable, the period of any
maternity leave sought or taken by his spouse, and
(2) that they are seeking the period of
extended parental leave to become the primary care giver of the child.
(v) Variation after Commencement of Leave -
After commencing parental leave, an
employee may vary the period of her/his parental leave, once without the
consent of the employer and otherwise with the consent of the employer. A minimum of fourteen days’ notice must be
given, although an employer may accept less notice if convenient.
(vi) Effect of Parental Leave on Accrual of
Leave, Increments etc.
As per maternity leave conditions.
(vii) Right to Return to Previous Position
As per maternity leave conditions.
D. Right to Request
(i) An employee
entitled to maternity, adoption or parental leave may request the employer to
allow the employee:
(a) to extend the period of simultaneous
maternity, adoption or parental leave use up to a maximum of eight weeks;
(b) to extend the period of unpaid maternity,
adoption or extended parental leave for a further continuous period of leave
not exceeding 12 months;
(c) to return from a period of maternity,
adoption or parental leave on a part-time basis until the child reaches school age;
to assist the employee in
reconciling work and parental responsibilities.
(ii) The employer shall consider the request
having regard to the employee’s circumstances and, provided the request is
genuinely based on the employee’s parental responsibilities, may only refuse
the request on reasonable grounds related to the effect on the workplace or the
employer’s business. Such grounds might
include cost, lack of adequate replacement staff, loss of efficiency and the
impact on customer service.
(iii) The employee’s request and the employer’s
decision made under subclauses (i)(b) and (c) must be
recorded in writing.
(iv) Where an employee wishes to make a request
under subclause (i)(c):
(a) the employee is to make an application
for leave without pay to reduce their full-time weekly hours of work
(b) such application must be made as early as
possible to enable the employer to make suitable staffing arrangements. At least four weeks’ notice must be given;
(c) salary and other conditions of employment
are to be adjusted on a basis proportionate to the employee’s full-time hours
of work i.e. for long service leave the period of service is to be converted to
the full-time equivalent and credited accordingly.
(d) employees who return from leave under
this arrangement remain full-time employees.
Therefore the payment of any part-time
allowance to such employees does not arise.
E. Communication During Leave
(i) Where an
employee is on maternity, adoption or parental leave and a definite decision
has been made to introduce significant change at the workplace, the employer
shall take reasonable steps to:
(a) make information available in relation to
any significant effect the change will have on the status or responsibility
level of the position the employee held before commencing the leave; and
(b) provide an opportunity for the employee
to discuss any significant effect the change will have on the status or
responsibility level of the position the employee held before commencing the
leave.
(ii) The employee shall take reasonable steps
to inform the employer about any significant matter that will affect the
employee’s decision regarding the duration of the leave to be taken, whether
the employee intends to return to work and whether the employee intends to
request to return to work on a part-time basis.
(iii) The employee shall also notify the employer
of changes of address or other contact details which might affect the
employer’s capacity to comply with subclause (i).
NOTE:
(a) The entitlement to maternity, adoption
and parental leave for part-time employees who receive an adjusted hourly rate,
along with casual employees, are in accordance with the provisions of Part 4,
Parental Leave of the Industrial
Relations Act 1996 and/or Ministry Determination.
(b) Where a casual employee is entitled to
parental leave under the Industrial
Relations Act 1996, the following provisions shall also apply in addition
to those set out in the Act.
An employer must not fail to
re-engage a casual employee because:
the employee or employee’s spouse
is pregnant; or
the employee is or has been
immediately absent on parental leave.
The rights of the employer in relation
to engagement and re-engagement of casual employees are not affected, other
than in accordance with this clause.
(c) Part-time employees who receive an
adjusted hourly rate are also entitled to the provisions of Part D Right to
Request and Part E Communication During Leave of this clause.
(d) Liability for Superannuation
Contributions
During a period of unpaid
maternity, adoption or parental leave, the employee will not be required to
meet the employer's superannuation liability.
17A. Lactation Breaks
(i) This clause
applies to employees who are lactating mothers. A lactation break is provided
for breastfeeding, expressing milk or other activity necessary to the act of
breastfeeding or expressing milk and is in addition to any other rest period
and meal break as provided for in this Award.
(ii) A full-time employee or a part-time
employee working more than four hours per day is entitled to a maximum of two
paid lactation breaks of up to 30 minutes each per day or per shift.
(iii) A part-time employee working four hours or
less on any day or shift is entitled to only one paid lactation break of up to 30 minutes each per day or per shift worked.
(iv) A flexible approach to lactation breaks can
be taken by mutual agreement between an employee and their manager provided the
total lactation break time entitlement is not exceeded. When giving
consideration to any such requests for flexibility, a manager needs to
balance the operational requirements of the organisation
with the lactating needs of the employee.
(v) The employer shall provide access to a
suitable, private space with comfortable seating for the purpose of
breastfeeding or expressing milk. Other suitable facilities, such as
refrigeration and a sink, shall be provided where practicable. Where it is not
practicable to provide these facilities, discussions between the manager and
the employee will take place to attempt to identify reasonable alternative
arrangements for the employee’s lactation needs.
(vi) Employees experiencing difficulties in
effecting the transition from home based breastfeeding
to the workplace will have telephone access in paid time to a free
breastfeeding consultative service, such as that provided by the Australian
Breastfeeding Association’s Breastfeeding Helpline Service or the Public Health
System.
(vii) Employees needing to leave the workplace
during time normally required for duty to seek support or treatment in relation
to breastfeeding and the transition to the workplace may utilise
sick leave or other leave in accordance with the Award.
18.
Family and Community Services Leave and Personal/Carers’ Leave
(i) Family and
Community Services (FACS) Leave and Personal/Carer’s Leave are separate, and
alone entitlements.
(ii) The provisions outlined in Parts A and B
of this clause are available to all employees covered by this Award, other than
casual employees as defined in subclause (iii) below.
(iii) Casual employees as defined in the Health Industry Status of Employment (State)
Award are entitled to the provisions outlined in Part C of this
clause.
A. FACS Leave
(i) FACS Leave -
General
(a) For the purpose of this clause relating
to FACS leave:
"relative" means a person
related by blood, marriage or affinity;
"affinity" means a
relationship that one spouse because of marriage has to
blood relatives of the other; and
"household" means a
family group living in the same domestic dwelling.
(b) The employer may grant FACS leave to an
employee:
(1) to provide care and/or support for sick
members of the employee’s relatives or household; or
(2) for reasons related to the family responsibilities
of the employee (e.g. to arrange and or attend a funeral of a relative; to
accompany a relative to a medical appointment where there is an element of
emergency; parent/teacher meetings; education week activities; to meet
elder-care requirements of a relative); or
(3) for reasons related to the performance of
community service by the employee (e.g. in matters relating to citizenship; to
office holders in local government, other than as a mayor, for attendance at
meetings, conferences or other associated duties; representing Australia or the
State in major amateur sport other than in Olympic/Commonwealth Games); or
(4) in a case of pressing necessity (e.g.
where an employee is unable to attend work because of adverse weather
conditions which either prevent attendance or threaten life or property; the
illness of a relative; where a child carer is unable
to look after their charge).
(ii) FACS leave replaces compassionate leave.
(iii) An employee is not to be granted FACS leave
for attendance at court to answer a criminal charge, unless the employer
approves the grant of leave in the particular case.
Applications for FACS leave to
attend court, for reasons other than criminal charges, will be assessed on an
individual basis.
(iv) FACS Leave - entitlement
(a) The maximum amount of FACS leave on full
pay that may be granted to an employee is:
(1) 3 working days during the first year of
service, commencing on and from 1 January 1995, and thereafter 6 working days
in any period of 2 years; or
(2) 1 working day, on a cumulative basis
effective from 1 January 1995, for each year of service after 2 years’
continuous service, minus any period of FACS leave already taken by the
employee since 1 January 1995,
whichever method provides the
greater entitlement.
(b) For the purposes of calculating
entitlements under (vi)(a)(1) and (2) above, a working day for employees
working 38 hours per week shall be deemed to consist of 8 hours, and a working
day for employees working 35 hours per week shall be deemed to consist of 7
hours. The rate at which FACS leave is paid out and utilised
shall be on actual hours absent from a rostered shift.
Example A: An employee working 38
hours per week will have an entitlement, in their first year of employment, to
24 hours of FACS leave. If the employee takes FACS leave for a full 10 hour shift, the employee would be debited 10 hours of
FACS leave.
Example B: An employee working 35
hours per week will have an entitlement, in their first year of employment, to
21 hours of FACS leave. If the employee takes FACS leave for a full 7 hour shift, the employee would be debited 7 hours of FACS
leave.
Example C: An employee, employed
prior to 1 January 1995, applies for FACS leave on 20 February 1997. The
employee is entitled to 6 days in any period of two years. Therefore, to calculate the employee’s
available FACS leave as at 20 February 1997, add all
FACS leave taken from 21 February 1995 to 20 February 1997 and deduct that
amount from the 6 days entitlement.
(c) FACS leave is available to part-time
employees on a pro rata basis, based on the average number of hours worked per
week. A working day shall consist of one-fifth of the employee’s average weekly
hours during the preceding 12 months or during the employee’s period of
employment, whichever is the lesser period.
Example: An employee working an average of 30 hours
per week will have an entitlement, in his/her first year of employment, of 18
hours of FACS leave. If the employee
takes FACS leave for a full rostered shift e.g. of 4 hours, the employee would
be debited 4 hours of FACS leave. Likewise, if the employee was rostered for 8
hours and was absent for the full 8 hours on FACS leave, he/she would be
debited 8 hours of FACS leave.
(v) Additional FACS leave for bereavement
purposes
Where FACS leave has been
exhausted, additional FACS leave of up to 2 days for bereavement may be granted
on a discrete, "per occasion" basis to an employee on the death of a
relative or member of a household as defined in subclause (i)
(a) of Part A of this clause.
(vi) Use of other leave entitlements
The employer may grant an employee other
leave entitlements for reasons related to family responsibilities or community
service, by the employee.
An employee may elect, with the
consent of the employer, to take annual leave; long service leave; or leave
without pay.
B. Personal/Carer’s
Leave
(i) Use of sick
leave to care for the person concerned - definitions
A person who needs the employee’s
care and support is referred to as the "person concerned" and is:
(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 purpose of this clause relating to
Personal/Carer’s Leave:
"relative" means a person
related by blood, marriage or affinity;
"affinity" means a
relationship that one spouse because of marriage has to
blood relatives of the other; and
"household" means a family
group living in the same domestic dwelling.
(ii) Use of sick leave to care for the person
concerned - entitlement
(a) The entitlement to use sick leave in
accordance with this subclause is subject to:
(1) the employee being responsible for the
care and support of the person concerned; and
(2) the person concerned being as defined in
subclause (i) of Part B of this clause.
(b) Other than a casual or any other employee
who receives a loading in lieu of sick leave, an employee with responsibilities
in relation to a person who needs their care and support shall be entitled to
use the untaken sick leave, from that year’s annual sick leave entitlement, to
provide care and support for such persons when they are ill.
(c) Sick leave accumulates from year to
year. In addition to the current year’s
grant of sick leave available under (b) above, sick leave untaken from the
previous 3 years may also be accessed by an employee with responsibilities in
relation to a person who needs their care and support.
(d) The employer may, in special
circumstances, make a grant of additional sick leave. This grant can only be taken from sick leave
untaken prior to the period referred to in subclause (c) above.
(e) The employee shall, if required,
establish either by production of a medical certificate or statutory
declaration that the illness of the person concerned is such as to require care
by another person.
(f) The employee has the right to choose the
method by which the ground for leave is established, that is, by production of
either a medical certificate or statutory declaration.
(g) The employee is not required to state the
exact nature of the relevant illness on either a medical certificate or
statutory declaration.
(h) The 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.
(i) In normal
circumstances, the employee must not take leave under this part where another
person has taken leave to care for the same person.
(iii) Use of other leave entitlements
An employee may elect, with the
consent of the employer, to take:
(a) annual leave, including annual leave not
exceeding 10 days in single day periods or part thereof, in any calendar year
at a time or times agreed by the parties.
An employee and employer may agree to defer payment of the annual leave
loading in respect of single day absences, until at least 5 consecutive annual
leave days are taken. An employee may
elect with the employer’s agreement to take annual leave at any time within a
period of 24 months from the date at which it falls due.
(b) long service leave; or
(c) leave without pay for the purpose of
providing care and support to the person concerned as defined in subclause (i) of Part B of this clause.
(iv) Time off in lieu of payment of overtime
(a) An employee may elect, with the consent
of the employer, to take time off in lieu of payment of 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 shall be taken at the ordinary time rate, that is, one hour off
for each hour of overtime worked.
(c) If, having elected to take time as leave
in accordance with (iv)(a) above and the leave is not taken for whatever
reason, payment for time accrued at overtime rates shall be made at the expiry
of the twelve 12 month period from the date the
overtime was worked, or earlier by agreement, or on termination.
(d) Where no election is made in accordance
with paragraph (iv)(a) above, the employee shall be paid overtime rates in
accordance with the provisions of clause 11, Overtime.
(v) Use of make-up time
(a) An employee may elect, with the consent
of the employer, to work "make-up time". "Make-up time" is
worked when the employee takes time off during ordinary hours for family or
community service responsibilities, and works those hours at another time,
during the spread of ordinary hours provided for in clause 6 of this Award, at
the ordinary rate of pay.
(b) An employee on shift work may elect, with
the consent of the employer, to work "make-up time" (under which the
employee takes time off during ordinary hours and works those hours at another
time) at the applicable shift work rate which would have been applicable to the
hours taken off.
C. Entitlements for Casual Employees
(i) Bereavement
entitlements for casual employees
(a) Casual employees are entitled to not be
available to attend work or to leave work upon the death in Australia of a
relative or member of a household as prescribed in subclause (i)(a) of Part A of this clause.
(b) The employer and the employee shall agree
on the period for which the employee will be entitled to not be available to
attend work. In the absence of
agreement, the employee is entitled to not be available to attend work for up
to 48 hours (i.e. two days) per occasion.
The casual employee is not entitled to any payment for the period of
non-attendance.
(c) An employer must not fail to re-engage a
casual employee because the employee accessed the entitlements provided for in
this part. The rights of an employer to
engage or not engage a casual employee are otherwise not affected.
(ii) Personal carers entitlement for casual
employees
(a) Subject to the evidentiary and notice requirements
in subclauses (ii)(e) - (h) of Part B of this clause casual employees are
entitled to not be available to attend work, or to leave work if they need to
care for a person prescribed in subclause (i) of Part
B of this clause who are sick and require care and support, or who require care
due to an unexpected emergency, or the birth of a child.
(b) The employer and the employee shall agree
on the period for which the employee will be entitled to not be available to
attend work. In the absence of agreement, the employee is entitled to not be
available to attend work for up to 48 hours (i.e. two days) per occasion. The
casual employee is not entitled to any payment for the period of
non-attendance.
(c) An employer must not fail to re-engage a
casual employee because the employee accessed the entitlements provided for in
this part. The rights of an employer to engage or not to engage a casual
employee are otherwise not affected.
18A. Family Violence Leave
(i) For the
purpose of this clause, family violence means domestic violence as defined in
the Crimes (Domestic and Personal
Violence) Act 2007 as varied from time to time. The violence may have been
reported to the police and/or may be the subject of an Apprehended Violence
Order.
(ii) An employee experiencing family and
domestic violence can utilise Award leave
entitlements provided for in Sick Leave and Family and Community Services Leave
provisions of the Award.
(iii) Where leave entitlements to Sick Leave and
Family and Community Services Leave are exhausted, the employer will grant up
to five days per year of paid special leave to attend legal proceedings,
counselling, appointments with a medical or legal practitioner and relocation
and safety activities directly associated with alleviating the effects of
family and domestic violence. This leave entitlement does not accumulate from
year to year.
(iv) Upon exhaustion of the paid leave
entitlement, an employee may request further periods of unpaid leave, for the
same activities for which paid leave would be available.
(v) To access paid and unpaid leave, the
employee must provide the employer with evidence, to the employer’s
satisfaction, substantiating the purpose of the leave and that the leave is
related to alleviating the effects of family violence. The employer may accept
a variety of agreed documentation in support of an application for leave.
Supporting documentation may be presented in the form of an agreed document
issued by the Police Force, a Court, a doctor, a Family Violence Support
Service or a lawyer.
(vi) Matters related to family violence can be
sensitive. Information collected by the employer will be kept confidential. No
information relating to the details of the family violence will be kept on an
employee’s personnel file without their express permission. However, records
about the use of family violence leave will need to be kept.
(vii) The employer, where appropriate, may
facilitate flexible working arrangements subject to operational requirements.
This may include changes to working times and locations, telephone numbers and
email addresses.
(viii) The employer will co-operate with all legal
orders protecting an employee experiencing domestic violence.
19.
Long Service Leave
(i)
(a) Each employee shall be entitled to two
months long service leave on full pay after ten years
of service; thereafter additional long service shall accrue on the basis of
five months long service leave on full pay for each ten years’ service.
Employees
with at least seven years’ service and less than 10 years’ service are
entitled, proportionate to his or her length of service, to proceed on a
proportionate period of long service leave on the basis of
two months' long service leave for ten years' service on full pay.
(b) Where the services of an employee with at
least five years’ service and less than seven years’ service are terminated by
the employer for any reason other than the employee's serious and wilful misconduct, or by the employee, on account of
illness, incapacity or domestic or other pressing necessity, he/she shall be
entitled to be paid a proportionate amount for long service leave on the basis
of two months' long service leave for ten years' service.
Where the services of an employee
with at least seven years are terminated by the employer or by the employee,
he/she shall be entitled to be paid a proportionate amount for long service
leave on the basis of two months' long service leave
for ten years' service.
Where the services of an employee
with at least 10 years’ service are terminated by the employer or by the
employee, he/she shall be entitled to be paid on the basis of
two months' long service leave for ten years' service and thereafter on the
basis of five months long service leave for each ten years’ service.
(ii) For the purposes of subclause (i) of this clause:
(a) Service shall mean continuous service
with the employer. For
the purpose of this paragraph, continuous service shall be determined in
accordance with the provisions of section 7 of the NSW Health Policy Directive
PD2019_010 Leave Matters for the NSW Health Service,
as amended from time to time.
(b) Broken periods of service with the
employer in one or more hospitals shall count as service subject to the
following:
(1) where an officer, after ceasing
employment with the employer is re-employed by the employer a subsequent to the
1st July 1974, any service of that officer before he/she was so re-employed
shall not be counted for the purpose of determining any long service leave due
to that officer in respect of his/her service after he/she was so re-employed
unless he/she has completed at leave five years' continuous service from the
date of his/her being so re-employed;
(2) an officer employed at the 1st July 1974, and who was entitled to count broken service
under the provisions of the Award in force prior thereto shall be entitled to
count such broken service prior to the 1st July 1974.
(c) Service shall not include -
(1) any period of leave without pay except in the case of employees who have completed at
least ten years’ service (any period of absence without pay being excluded
there from) in which case service shall include any period of leave without pay
not exceeding six months taken after 1 July, 1974;
(2) any period of part-time service
(excluding part-time service under clause 7 of this Award), except as provided
in subclause (d) of this clause.
(d) An employee shall be entitled to have previous
part-time service under Agreement No.1 of 1975 which is the equivalent of at
least two full day’s duty per week taken into account for long service leave
purposes in conjunction with full-time service or part-time service under
clause 7 of this Award, on the basis of the proportion that the actual number
of hours worked each week bears to 40 hours up until 30 June 1987 and bears to
38 on and from 1 July 1987, provided the part-time service merges without break
with the subsequent full-time or part-time service.
(iii) An employee with an entitlement to long
service leave may elect to access such entitlement:
on full pay;
on half pay; or
on double pay.
(iv) When an employee takes long service leave,
the leave entitlement will be deducted on the following basis:
a period of leave on full pay - the
number of days so taken;
a period of leave on half pay -
half the number of days so taken; or
a period of leave on double pay -
twice the number of days so taken.
(v) When taking long service leave and an
employee would otherwise have had a rostered shift fall on a public holiday
during that period, the amount of long service leave
to be deducted is to be reduced by one day for the public holiday.
(vi) Long Service Leave shall be taken at a time
mutually arranged between the employer and the employee.
(vii)
(a) On the termination of employment of an
employee, otherwise than by his/her death, an employer shall pay to the employee
the monetary value of all long service leave accrued and not taken at the date
of such termination and such monetary value shall be determined according to
the salary payable to the employee at the date of such termination unless the
employee transfers his/her leave entitlement in accordance with section 7 of
the NSW Health Policy Directive PD2019_010 Leave Matters for the NSW Health
Service, as amended from time to time.
(b) Where an employee who has acquired a
right to long service leave, or after having had five years’ service and less
than ten years’ service dies, the widow or the widower of such employee, or if
there is no such widow or widower, the children of such employee, or if there
is no such widow, widower, or children, such person who, in the opinion of the
employer, was at the time of the death of such employee, a dependent relative
of such employee, shall be entitled to receive the monetary value of the leave not
taken or which would have accrued to such employee, had his/her services
terminated as referred to in paragraph (b) of subclause (i)
of this clause and such monetary value shall be determined according to the
salary payable to the employee at the time of his/her death.
Where there is a guardian of any
children entitled under this paragraph the payment, to which such children are
entitled, may be made to such guardian for their maintenance, education and
advancement.
Where there is no person entitled under
this paragraph to receive the monetary value of any leave payable under the
foregoing provisions payment in respect thereof shall be made to the legal
personal representative of such employee.
(viii) Rights to long service leave under this
clause shall be in replacement of rights to long service leave, if any, which
at the 1st July 1974, may have accrued or may be
accruing to an officer and shall apply only to persons in the employ of the
employer on or after the 1st July 1974.
Where an officer has been granted long service leave or has been paid
its monetary value prior to the 1st July 1974, the
employer shall be entitled to debit such leave against any leave to which the
officer may be entitled pursuant to this clause.
20.
Board and Accommodation
(i) Where an
officer lives at a hospital, deductions from his/her salary for accommodation
and/or board may be made by the employer at the rates prescribed from time to
time by the Public Health System Nurses’
and Midwives’ (State) Award.
(ii) Where individual meals only are provided,
the officer may be charged the charges applicable under the Public Health System Nurses’ and Midwives’
(State) Award.
(iii) No deduction shall be made from the salary
of an officer for board and accommodation when the officer is absent on annual,
sick or long service leave, provided that the employer shall be entitled to
make the deduction for accommodation where the officer:
(a) having been requested to leave his/her
room completely vacant fails to do so; or
(b) is absent on sick leave and such absence
does not exceed six consecutive days.
21.
Uniform and Laundry Allowance
(i) Sufficient
suitable and serviceable uniforms shall be provided for each officer required
to wear a uniform and such uniforms shall be laundered at the expense of the
employer.
(ii) Where the employer requires a uniform to
be worn but does not provide such uniform, the following allowances shall be
paid:
(a) where a full uniform, including special
shoes, is required, an amount per week as set in Item 4 of Table 1, Allowances;
(b) in other cases, an amount as also set in
Item 4 of Table 1.
22.
Termination of Employment
Employment
may be terminated only by four weeks' notice given in writing either by the
employer or the officer at any time during the week or by payment or forfeiture
of four weeks' salary as the case may be, provided
that the officer and the employer may agree to a lesser period of notice. Nothing in this clause shall prevent the
summary dismissal of an officer for misconduct or neglect of duty.
23.
Settlement of Disputes
(i) Where a
dispute arises in a particular section which cannot be resolved between the
employees or their representative and the supervising staff, it shall be
referred to the Chief Executive Officer of the Health Service or establishment
or his/her nominee, who will arrange for the matter to be discussed with the
employees concerned and a local representative or representatives of the Union.
(ii) Failing settlement of the issue at this
level, the matter shall be referred to the Secretary, and the Head Office of
the Union. The dispute will then be dealt with pursuant to subclause (v) of
this clause.
(iii) Whilst these procedures are continuing, no stoppage
of work or any form of ban or limitation of work shall be applied.
(iv) The Union reserves the right to vary this
procedure where it is considered a safety factor is involved.
(v) With a view to an amicable and speedy
settlement, all disputes that firstly cannot be settled in accordance with
subclauses (i) and (ii) of this clause may be
submitted to a committee consisting of not more than six members, with equal
representatives of the Secretary and the Union.
Such committee shall have the power to investigate all matters in
dispute and to report to the Chief Executive Officer of the Health Service and
the Union respectively with such recommendations as it may think right and, in
the event of no mutual decision being arrived at by such committee, the matter
in dispute may be referred to the Public Health Employees (State) Industrial
Committee.
(v) This clause shall not interfere with the
rights of either party to institute proceedings for the determination of any
matter in accordance with the Industrial
Relations Act 1996.
24.
Anti-Discrimination
(i) It is
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.
(ii) 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.
(iii) 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.
(iv) 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.
(v) 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 this 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”.
25.
Study Leave
(i) Subject to
the terms of this clause the employer may grant to officers other than interns,
study leave without loss of pay as follows:
Face-to-face courses: Half hour
study time for every hour of compulsory lecture and/or tutorial attendance, up
to a maximum of four hours study time per week. Where no face-to-face course is
provided: A maximum of four hours study
time per week for a maximum of 27 weeks per year.
(ii) Study leave shall only be granted in
respect of a course:
(a) leading to higher medical qualifications as
defined in clause 1, Definitions, of this Award; and
(b) in respect of a qualification which when
obtained would be relevant to the needs of the hospital.
(iii) The officer shall submit to the employer a timetable
of the proposed course of study and evidence of the officer's enrolment in the
course.
(iv) The grant of study leave is subject to the
convenience of the employer and should not interfere with the maintenance of
essential services or with patient care.
(v) Periods of study leave granted shall not
be taken into account for the purposes of calculating overtime payments;
(vi) Study leave granted subject to the terms of
this clause, may be accrued to a maximum of seven working days for the purpose
of enabling the officer to study prior to a written, oral or clinical
examination. An option to accumulate
study leave in terms of this subclause shall be exercised at the commencement
of each academic year and the officer shall notify the employer accordingly;
(vii) Officers who have given continuous service
of more than one year shall be allowed to accrue study leave not taken up to a
maximum of fourteen calendar days.
26.
Travelling Allowances
(i) An officer
seconded to another hospital may be granted a daily travel allowance at the
rate of the difference between the cost of travel by public transport to
his/her normal place of employment and travel by public transport to the
seconding hospital. Provided that where
an officer drives his/her own vehicle, he/she shall, in lieu, be eligible for a
mileage allowance equivalent to the "Transport Allowance" as
determined under the Health Services Act
1997 from time to time, for the difference between the distance to his/her
normal place of employment and the distance to the seconding hospital.
(ii) An officer who, with the approval of the
employer, uses on official business, a motor vehicle maintained primarily for
other than official business, shall be paid the above-mentioned mileage
allowance from time to time effective. However, where it is estimated that an
officer will, with the approval of the employer, be required to use his/her
private vehicle on official business on at least 50 days during any period of
12 months and during that period aggregate at least 850 kilometres
of official running, he/she shall be paid at the "Official Business
Rate" prescribed by clause 36 of the Crown
Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Reviewed Award 2009 at
the rate in force from time to time throughout the year.
(iii) For the purpose of subclause (ii) travel on
official business:
(a) occurs when an officer is required by the
employer as part of his/her duty to use his/her motor vehicle to attend away
from his/her normal place of employment or seconding hospital to another
clinic, annexe or hospital. Where an officer travels on official business
direct from his/her place of residence to a clinic, annexe
or hospital, other than his/her normal place of employment he/she shall be paid
for the difference between the distance to his/her normal place of employment
or seconding hospital and that other annexe, clinic
or hospital;
(b) does not include "call backs";
(c) shall include other arrangements as
agreed to between the employer and the Union from time to time.
(iv) Nothing in this clause shall make the
employer liable for the cost of the officer's daily travel to his/her usual and
normal place of employment.
27.
Mobility, Excess Fares and Travelling
For the purpose of this clause accustomed place of work shall mean the
location where an employee is regularly required to commence duty by the
employer.
(i) An employee
shall be required to proceed to the accustomed place of work and return home
once on each ordinary working day or shift in the employee's own time and at
the employee's own expense.
(ii)
(a) Where an employee is directed to report
for duty to a place of work other than the employee's accustomed place of work
the employee shall travel to and from the alternative place of work in the
employer's time for those periods in excess of time
normally taken to travel to and from the accustomed place of work.
(b) If the excess of travelling time on a
particular day or shift is greater than the prescribed ordinary hours of duty
for the particular category of staff for that day or
shift, then the excess of hours shall be paid at the ordinary rate of pay to
the extent of travelling time.
(c) Fares incurred by such employee in excess of the fares normally incurred in travelling to
the employee's accustomed place of work and returning home from the accustomed
place of work shall be reimbursed.
(d) Where the employee is required to report
to an alternative place of work and has the prior approval of the employer to
travel by his/her own mode of conveyance, the employee shall be paid a kilometre allowance for kilometres
travelled in excess of the kilometres
the employee normally travels between the accustomed place of work and home.
The kilometre allowance will be prescribed from time
to time by the Industrial Relations Secretary.
(iii)
(a) Where an employer has determined that an employee
or employees should report to a new accustomed place of work on a permanent
basis, the decision must be discussed with the affected employee(s) and the
local branch of the Union prior to notice of changed accustomed place of work
being given.
(b) The employer shall give the employee
reasonable notice of the requirement to report to a new accustomed place of
work. For the purpose of this subclause
"reasonable notice" shall be one calendar month prior to the date the
employee is first required to report to the new accustomed place of work.
(c) Where the accustomed place of work is
changed on a permanent basis by the employer, the employee shall report to the
new accustomed place of work on the date specified by the employer.
(d) If there is disagreement about such a
decision after such discussion or if a significant number of employees are
involved, the matter should be referred to the Secretary who will discuss the
matter with the Union and will determine the date upon which notice will be
given to employee(s).
(iv)
(a) The provision of this clause shall not
apply to an employee appointed to regularly perform relief duties or to
employees specifically employed to perform duties at more than one place of
work except as provided in (b) hereunder.
(b) If a reliever incurs fares in excess of $5 per day in travelling to and from the relief
site, the excess shall be reimbursed.
Where a reliever, with the prior
approval of the employer, travels by his/her own mode of conveyance and incurs
travelling costs in excess of $5 per day to and from
the relief site, such excess shall be reimbursed. The rate applicable shall be
the kilometre allowance prescribed from time to time
by the Industrial Relations Secretary less $5.
This $5 shall be reviewed annually
by the employer.
(v) No payment shall be made under this
clause unless the employer is satisfied that the employee has incurred
additional expenditure in having to report to an alternative place of work, at
the direction of the employer.
(vi) Travel to an alternative place of work,
either by public transport or own mode of conveyance, shall in all instances be
by the most direct route.
28.
Secondment
(i) Allowance -
An officer, other than an intern, seconded to work in a hospital listed at Part
C of this Award shall have his/her salary increased by one incremental step, by
way of allowance, for the period the officer works in such hospital.
For the duration of the officer's
secondment, other than periods of leave, the allowance shall be treated as
salary for the purpose of calculating overtime and shift penalties.
(ii) Travel - An officer referred to in
subclause (i) of this clause shall be allowed a paid
journey to Sydney and return by economy class airfare or equivalent thereof for
each period of 7 weeks in the employment of a hospital listed at Part C of this
Award.
At the discretion of the employer
the paid journey may be taken in advance.
Such travel may be used for the purpose of furthering the officer's
medical education.
29.
Relocation Expenses
Where an
officer is employed by the employer within the metropolitan area and applies
for and obtains a permanent position at a country location (being either a
position covered by this Award or a Career Medical Officer position), the costs
incurred by the officer in respect to removal of furniture and effects and
conveyancing in the purchase of a residence are to be refunded by the employer
on the following basis:-
At the time the appointment is
taken up: 50% of costs incurred.
After one year's service at the
country location: a further 25% of the costs incurred.
After two years’ service at the country
location: the remaining 25% of the costs incurred.
These arrangements become effective
in relation to country appointments made after 1 January 1989.
30.
Labour Flexibility
(i) The employer
may direct an employee to carry out such duties as are reasonable, and within
the limits of the employee's skill, competence and training consistent with the
employee's classification, grouping and/or career stream provided that such
duties are not designed to promote de-skilling.
(ii) The employer may direct an employee to
carry out such duties and use such tools and equipment as may be required
provided that the employee has been properly trained or has otherwise acquired
the necessary skills in the use of such tools and equipment.
(iii) Any direction issued by the employer
pursuant to subclauses (i) and (ii) shall be
consistent with the employer's responsibilities to provide a safe and healthy
work environment.
(iv) Existing provisions with respect to the
payment of higher duties allowances shall apply in such circumstances.
31.
Salary Packaging
(i) By agreement
with their employer, employees may elect to package part or all
of their salary in accordance with this clause, to obtain a range of
benefits as set out in the NSW Health Policy Directive PD2018_044 Salary Packaging, as amended from time
to time. Such election must be made prior to the commencement of the period of
service to which the earnings relate. Where an employee also elects to salary
sacrifice to superannuation under this Award, the combined amount of salary
packaging/sacrificing may be up to 100 per cent of salary.
Any salary packaging above the
fringe benefit exemption cap will attract fringe benefits tax as described in
paragraph (iv) below.
(ii) Where an employee elects to package an
amount of salary:
(a) Subject to Australian taxation law, the
packaged amount of salary will reduce the salary subject to PAYE taxation
deductions by that packaged amount.
(b) Any allowance, penalty rate, overtime
payment, payment for unused leave entitlements, weekly workers’ compensation,
or other payment other than any payment for leave taken in service, to which an
employee is entitled under this Award or statute which is expressed to be
determined by reference to an employee’s salary, shall be calculated by
reference to the salary which would have applied to the employee under this
Award in the absence of any salary packaging or salary sacrificing made under
this Award.
(c) ‘Salary’ for the purpose of this clause,
for superannuation purposes, and for the calculation of Award entitlements,
shall mean the Award salary as specified in clause 2. Salaries, and which shall
include ‘approved employment benefits’ which refer to fringe benefit savings,
administration costs, and the value of packaged benefits.
(iii) Any pre-tax and post-tax payroll deductions
must be taken into account prior to determining the
amount of available salary to be packaged. Such payroll deductions may include
but are not limited to superannuation payments, HECS payments, child support
payments, judgement debtor/garnishee orders, union fees, and private health
fund membership fees.
(iv) The salary packaging scheme utilises a fringe benefit taxation exemption status
conferred on public hospitals and local health districts, which provides for a
fringe benefit tax exemption cap of $17,000 per annum. The maximum amount of
fringe benefits-free tax savings that can be achieved under the scheme is where
the value of benefits when grossed-up, equal the fringe benefits exemption cap
of $17,000. Where the grossed-up value exceeds the cap, the employer is liable
to pay fringe benefits tax on the amount in excess of $17,000,
but will pass this cost on to the employee. The
employer’s share of savings, the combined administration cost, and the value of
the package benefits, are deducted from pre-tax dollars.
(v) The parties agree that the application of
the fringe benefits tax exemption status conferred on public hospitals and
local health districts is subject to prevailing Australian taxation laws.
(vi) If an employee wishes to withdraw from the
salary packaging scheme, the employee may only do so in accordance with the
required period of notice as set out in the NSW Health Policy Directive
PD2018_044 Salary Packaging, as varied from time to time.
(vii) Where an employee ceases to salary package,
arrangements will be made to convert the agreed package amount to salary. Any
costs associated with the conversion will be borne by the employee, and the
employer shall not be liable to make up any salary lost as a
consequence of the employee’s decision to convert to salary.
(viii) Employees accepting the offer to salary
package do so voluntarily. Employees are advised to seek independent financial
advice and counselling to apprise them of the implications of salary packaging
on their individual personal financial situations.
(ix) The employer and the employee shall comply
with the procedures set out in the NSW Health Policy Directive PD2018_044 Salary Packaging as amended from time to time.
32.
Reasonable Hours
(i) Subject to
subclause (ii) the employer may require an employee to work reasonable overtime
at overtime rates unless or as otherwise provided for under the Award.
(ii) The employee may refuse to work overtime
in circumstances where the working of such overtime would result in the
employee working hours which are unreasonable.
(iii) For the purposes of subclause (ii) what is
unreasonable or otherwise will be determined having regard to:
(a) any risk to employee health and safety;
(b) the employee’s personal circumstances
including any family and carer responsibilities;
(c) the needs of the workplace or enterprise;
(d) the notice (if any) given by the employer
of the overtime and by the employee of his or her intention to refuse it; and
(e) any other relevant matter.
33.
Salary Sacrifice to Superannuation
(i) Notwithstanding
the salaries prescribed in clause 2, Salaries as varied from time to time, an
employee may elect, subject to the agreement of the employee’s employer, to
sacrifice a part or all of the salary payable under
the salaries clause to additional employer superannuation contributions. Such
election must be made prior to the commencement of the period of service to
which the earnings relate. The amount sacrificed together with any salary packaging
arrangements under clause, 31 Salary Packaging, of this Award may be made up to
one hundred (100) per cent of the salary payable under the relevant salaries
clause, or up to one hundred (100) per cent of the currently applicable
superannuable salary, whichever is the lesser.
In this clause, ‘superannuable
salary’ means the employee’s salary as notified from time to time to the New
South Wales public sector superannuation trustee corporations.
(ii) Any pre-tax and post-tax payroll
deductions must be taken into account prior to
determining the amount of available salary to be packaged. Such payroll
deductions may include but are not limited to superannuation payments, HECS
payments, child support payments, judgement debtor/garnishee orders, union fees
and private health fund membership fees.
(iii) Where the employee has elected to sacrifice
a part or all of the available payable salary to
additional employer superannuation contributions:
(a) The employee shall be provided with a
copy of the signed agreement. The salary sacrifice agreement shall be
terminated at any time at the employee’s election and shall cease upon
termination of the employee’s services with the employer.
(b) Subject to Australian taxation law, the
amount of salary sacrificed will reduce the salary subject to appropriate PAYE
taxation deductions by the amount sacrificed; and
(c) Any allowance, penalty rate, overtime,
payment for unused leave entitlements, weekly workers’ compensation, or other payment,
other than any payment for leave taken in service, to which an employee is
entitled under the relevant Award or any applicable Award, act, or statute
which is expressed to be determined by reference to an employee’s salary, shall
be calculated by reference to the salary which would have applied to the
employee under the salaries clause of the relevant Award in the absence of any
salary sacrifice to superannuation made under this Award.
(iv) The employee may elect to have the
specified amount of payable salary which is sacrificed to additional employer
superannuation contributions:
(a) paid into the superannuation scheme
established under the First State
Superannuation Act 1992 as optional employer contributions; or
(b) subject to the employer’s agreement, paid
into a private sector complying superannuation scheme as employer
superannuation contributions.
(v) Where an employee elects to salary
sacrifice in terms of subclause (iv) above, the employer will pay the
sacrificed amount into the relevant superannuation fund.
(vi) Where the employee is a member of a
superannuation scheme established under:
(a) the Police
Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906;
(b) the Superannuation
Act 1916;
(c) the State
Authorities Superannuation Act 1987;
(d) the State
Authorities Non-contributory Superannuation Act 1987; or
(e) the First
State Superannuation Act 1992.
The employee’s employer must ensure that the amount of any additional
employer superannuation contributions specified in subclause (i) above is included in the employee’s superannuable salary
which is notified to the New South Wales public sector superannuation trustee
corporations.
(vii) Where, prior to electing to sacrifice a part
or all of their salary to superannuation, an employee had entered into an
agreement with their employer to have superannuation contributions made to a
superannuation fund other than a fund established under legislation listed in
subclause (v) above, the employer will continue to base contributions to that
fund on the salary payable under clause 2, Salaries of the Award to the same
extent as applied before the employee sacrificed that amount of salary to
superannuation. This clause applies even though the superannuation
contributions made by the employer may be in excess of
the superannuation guarantee requirements after the salary sacrifice is
implemented.
34.
No Extra Claims
Other than as provided for in the Industrial
Relations Act 1996 and the Industrial
Relations (Public Sector Conditions of Employment) Regulation 2014 (or its
successor however described), there shall be no further claims/demands or
proceedings instituted before the Industrial Relations Commission of New South
Wales for extra or reduced wages, salaries, rates of pay, allowances or
conditions of employment with respect to the employees covered by the Award
that take effect prior to 30 June 2024 by a party to this Award.
35.
Area, Incidence and Duration
(i) This Award
takes effect from 1 July 2023 and shall remain in force for a period of one
year.
(ii) This Award rescinds and replaces the Public Hospital Medical Officers (State)
Award 2022 and all variations thereof.
(iii) This Award shall apply to persons employed
in classifications contained herein employed in the New South Wales Health
Service under section 115(1) of the Health
Services Act 1997, or their successors, assignees or transmittees.
(iv) In the period 1 July 2023 to the
commencement of the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2023, the
applicable rates of pay are those that applied immediately prior to the first
full pay period on or after 1 July 2023.
PART B
Table 1 - Allowances and Other Rates
Item No.
|
Clause
|
Allowance Description
|
Frequency
|
Rate from first pay period on or
after 1-Jul-2023
|
|
|
In Charge
|
|
|
1
|
5
|
In charge Allowance
|
Per 12 hours
of duty or part thereof
|
22.80
|
|
|
Meal
Allowance for Overtime
|
|
|
2
|
11(ii)
|
(a) Breakfast at or before
6.00 a.m.
|
Each
|
35.65*
|
2
|
11(ii)
|
(b) Evening
at least 1 hour after normal ceasing time and extends beyond or is worked
wholly after 7.00 pm.
|
Each
|
35.65*
|
2
|
11(ii)
|
(c) Lunch
beyond 2.00pm Saturdays, Sundays or Holidays
|
Each
|
35.65*
|
|
|
On-call
|
|
|
3
|
12(iii)
|
On-call (clinical) allowance per on-call period
which coincides with a day rostered on duty
|
Per Day
|
$106.20
|
3
|
12(iii)
|
On-call (clinical) allowance per on-call period
which coincides with a day rostered off duty
|
Per Day
|
$213.20
|
3
|
12 (iii)
|
On call (relief) allowance per on-call period which
coincides with a day rostered on duty
|
Per Day
|
$35.00
|
3
|
12(iii)
|
On call (relief)
allowance per on-call period which coincides with a day rostered off duty
|
Per Day
|
$50.00
|
|
|
Uniform
|
|
|
4
|
21(iii)
|
Full uniform including special shoes if required
|
Per Week
|
2.89
|
4
|
21(iii)
|
Other
Cases
|
Per Week
|
2.13
|
* NB:
These rates are varied in accordance with any variations in the rates payable
under Crown Employees (Public Service
Conditions of Employment) Reviewed Award 2009.
PART C
Albury Base Hospital
Armidale Hospital
Bathurst Base Hospital
Byron Central Hospital
South
East Regional Hospital
Broken Hill Base Hospital
Coffs Harbour
Health Campus
Dubbo Base Hospital
Goulburn Base Hospital
Grafton Base Hospital
Griffith Base Hospital
Lismore Base Hospital
Orange Health Service
Port Macquarie Base Hospital
Shoalhaven District Memorial
Hospital
Tamworth Rural Referral hospital
Manning Base Hospital (Taree)
Tweed Hospital
Wagga Wagga Health Service
____________________
Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.