businesses) can no longer rates favoured by Awards need to be simple ignore award obligations with employers as budget and straightforward for both (relative) impunity. forecast and control tools employers and employees. have been made redundant. All modern awards should Some businesses have be required to include managed through EBAs to provision for annualised reintroduce flat rates and to salaries. This provision renegotiate the shift could appropriately be structures to reduce their based on cl 17 of the Clerks exposure, especially in 24x7 Private Sector Award – operations. However, to 2010. offset their higher costs they have rationalised rosters and reduced the number of hours they offer (that is, they employ fewer people). The modern awards were Some employees are now developed by the AIRC in covered by awards who had accordance with the not previously been so applicable legislation, and covered. This includes some government policy as reflected white collar staff within in numerous iterations of the professional services firms Award Modernisation where historically common Request. The tribunal’s law contracts have decisions also took account of prevailed. Many staff were submissions made by unions, affronted by being employer associations and and have individual businesses. They not understood that the reflect different inputs. changes were a result of legislative change as opposed to employer policy. Created some suspicion. Because some occupational awards have been retained, staff within the same workgroup may have differential benefits, not have access to benefits previously provided by their employers (for example cashing out of annual leave) or be entitled to terms and conditions at odds with the standards of the industry in which they work (for example clerical staff on FIFO shifts). Some aspects of the Act These provisions are so Amend the legislation to relating to awards are complex that many remove the need to provide unnecessarily complex for employers simply do not a guarantee of earnings, – example the provisions attempt to take advantage of and simply stipulate that no
businesses) can no longer ignore award obligations with (relative) impunity. rates favoured by employers as budget forecast and control tools have been made redundant. Some businesses have managed through EBAs to reintroduce flat rates and to renegotiate the shift structures to reduce their exposure, especially in 24x7 operations. However, to offset their higher costs they have rationalised rosters and reduced the number of hours they offer (that is, they employ fewer people). Awards need to be simple and straightforward for both employers and employees. All modern awards should be required to include provision for annualised salaries. This provision could appropriately be based on cl 17 of the Clerks – Private Sector Award 2010. The modern awards were developed by the AIRC in accordance with the applicable legislation, and government policy as reflected in numerous iterations of the Award Modernisation Request. The tribunal’s decisions also took account of submissions made by unions, employer associations and individual businesses. They reflect different inputs. Some employees are now covered by awards who had not previously been so covered. This includes some white collar staff within professional services firms where historically common law contracts have prevailed. Many staff were affronted by being and have not understood that the changes were a result of legislative change as opposed to employer policy. Created some suspicion. Because some occupational awards have been retained, staff within the same workgroup may have differential benefits, not have access to benefits previously provided by their employers (for example cashing out of annual leave) or be entitled to terms and conditions at odds with the standards of the industry in which they work (for example clerical staff on FIFO shifts). Some aspects of the Act relating to awards are unnecessarily complex – for example the provisions These provisions are so complex that many employers simply do not attempt to take advantage of Amend the legislation to remove the need to provide a guarantee of earnings, and simply stipulate that no
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