Modern Award Review - Latest News

19th December 2013

The Fair Work Commission review of modern awards (including transitional provisions) commenced in January 2012 following the second anniversary of the commencement of the Fair Work Act. Unfortunately, this review has not yet concluded its work and is likely to run into the more thorough 4 yearly full review required under the Fair Work Act.

The current review has resulted in mainly technical adjustments to the awards but there are some significant changes such as the increase in apprentices wages. On top of the variations to the modern awards that will occur over the next few weeks, there is the inclusion of the new obligation to consult employees over changes to their working hours. As this and other changes occur and are published we will alert you to them. In the interim, please note the following variations that are expected to commence in the New Year.

Consultation on Changes to Working Hours

All modern awards will be varied to include an additional obligation on employers to consult with employees and their representatives when changing working hours or rosters.

The obligation means you must notify employees (affected by the change) and their representatives of the proposed change to the arrangement or roster of ordinary hours of work and as soon as practicable after proposing the change discuss the change with those employees. You must provide:

• information relevent to the change e.g. the new roster of hours,
• information on the effect of the changes e.g. reasons for the change, and
• give prompt and genuine consideration to matters raised by the affected employees.

You are not required to disclose confidential or commercially sensitive information.

The final form of the clause should be in all modern awards commencing 1 January 2014

Apprentices Wages

Earlier in the year, the Fair Work Commission decided to increase the percentage of the adult wage payable to first and second year apprentices. The Commission also varied clauses in respect of payments whilst attending classes and various other entitlements. The increased wage will apply to apprentices commencing employment from 1 January 2014. You can view the Determinations varying each of the applicable awards with apprentice wages from the Modern Awards Review 2012 section of the Commission website. The consolidated and updated version of each award will be published in January 2014.

Part-day Public Holidays

Once again this year, the Commission has made special provision for part-day public holidays at Christmas Eve (24th December) and New Year’s Eve (31st December). The variation contained in the schedules to all modern awards provides a right for employees to refuse to work on the part-day holiday and where they would otherwise have been required to work the receive their normal pay for the part-day holiday. See the schedules headed “2013 Part Day Public Holidays” in each modern award for the specific entitlements and obligations.