"Our employees are Award-free”
“We’ve got employment contracts, so the Award doesn’t apply”
We hear this stuff regularly - even from HR professionals - and usually it’s incorrect.
The Risk? A very real and expensive risk of misclassification and underpayments.
So, here’s the two-minute run down on working out which Award applies.
In short, unless we’re talking about a senior/management role or a registered agreement applies, then a Modern Award more than likely applies to the employee and provides their minimum employment entitlements, in conjunction with the National Employment Standards.
So how do you figure it out?
1️⃣ Check whether there is an award with industry coverage – that is, an award which covers the industry in which the employer operates, which contains a classification covering the work that the employee performs. For example, a road transport business might have some employees covered by the Road Transport & Distribution Award or the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award – or maybe both, just to keep things interesting.
2️⃣ Check whether there is an Award with occupational coverage – where there is no industry award or it contains no relevant classification for the work the employee performs, explore the occupational awards. In a road transport business, most of the admin functions for example, are likely to be covered by the Clerks – Private Sector Award as these as not covered by the Road Transport Awards.
3️⃣ Where there is no Award with industry or occupational coverage, consider the Miscellaneous award. This can be tricky to determine.
4️⃣ If steps 1-3 have not provided any answers, consider whether the employee is truly award free.
Before undertaking this exercise, be sure that you thoroughly understand the role and have an up to date PD to work from.
And finally, remember that your employment contract does not override or contract out of any part of the obligations or entitlements under an Award if one applies.
Clear as mud? Welcome to employment relations in Australia 😊
If you found this post useful, share your thoughts or feel free to hit the repost button.
#edwardshr #hr #awardcoverage #modernawards #ir #er #peoplemanagement #peopleandculture
Director at Medical Engineers
2moSkuad: Why won't you refund my credit note worth £2971.60? 🤬 You ignore all of my emails and my online help requests. The credit note was from December 2023!!!😡 Why would anyone trust you with their money when you treat customers like this?👎