Parliamentary Reporting Staff (Salaries) Award
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.
R.
DELGODA, Acting Industrial Registrar.
Schedule of Award and Variations
Incorporated
|
Award/Variation
|
Date of
|
Effective Date
|
Industrial Gazette
|
|
Serial No.
|
Publication
|
|
Vol
|
Page
No.
|
|
C9306
|
24/09/21
|
1 July 2021
|
390
|
559
|
|
C9596
|
20/01/23
|
1 July 2022
|
393
|
1543
|
AWARD
PART A
1. Arrangement
PART A
Clause No. Subject Matter
1. Arrangement
2. Area,
Incidence and Duration
3. Classifications
and Salaries,
4. All
Incidence of Employment Allowance
5. Hours of
Work and Overtime
6. Leave Entitlements
7. Family and
Community Service Leave, Personal/Carer’s Leave and Flexible Use of other Leave
Entitlements.
8. Saving of
Rights
9. Anti-Discrimination
10. Dispute
Avoidance and Settling Procedures
11. No Extra
Claims
12. Review of
Award
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 - Salaries
Table 2 - All Incidence of Employment Allowance
2.
Area, Incidence and Duration
(a) This award
shall apply to the employees employed in the classifications specified in
clause 3 Classification and Salaries.
(b) This award
rescinds and replaces the Parliamentary Reporting Staff (Salaries) Award
published 17 April 2020 (Vol. 387 I.G. 666).
(c) This
award shall take effect on and from 1 July 2019 and the award will remain in
force until 30 June 2020.
(d) The award variation made on 30 August
2021 applies from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2021.
(e) This award variation applies from the
first full pay period on or after 1 July 2022.
3.
Classification and Salaries, Adjustments to Rates of Pay
(a) The
classification of positions covered by this award are specified in Table 1 -
Salaries of Part B Monetary Rates.
(b) The minimum
salary for employees shall be as set out in Table 1 - Salaries, of Part B,
Monetary Rates.
(c) The payment of
increments under the scale of salaries specified in Table 1 shall be subject to
satisfactory performance and the approval of the relevant Department Head.
3A.
Part Time Work
(a) This clause
shall only apply to part time staff members whose conditions of employment are
not otherwise provided for in another industrial instrument
(b) Part time work
may be undertaken with the agreement of the relevant Department Head. Part time
work may be undertaken in a part time position or under a part time
arrangement.
(c) A part time
staff member is to work contract hours less than full-time hours.
(d) Unless
otherwise specified in this Award, part time staff members receive full time
entitlements on a pro rata basis calculated according to the number of hours a
staff member works in a part time position or under a part time arrangement.
Entitlements to paid leave will accrue on the equivalent hourly basis.
(e) Before
commencing part time work, the Department Head and the staff member must agree
upon the hours to be worked by the staff member, the days upon which they will
be worked,
(f) The terms of
the agreement must be in writing and may only be varied with the consent of
both parties.
(g) Incremental
progression for part time staff members is the same as for permanent staff
members, that is, part time staff members who are eligible are given an
increment on an annual basis.
(h) An employee may
request, but not require, a part time staff member to work additional hours.
For the time worked in excess of the staff member’s usual hour and up to the
normal full-time hours for the classification, part time staff members will be
paid for additional hours at their hourly rate plus a loading of 1/12ths in
lieu of recreation leave.
4.
All Incidence of Employment Allowance
In addition to the salary rates prescribed in clause 3
Classifications and salaries, all employees, both full time and part time shall
be paid the all incidence of employment allowance as set out in Table 2 - All
Incidence of Employment Allowance of Part B Monetary Rates. This allowance is
in respect of all incidents of employment in recognition of the special
features of Hansard work notably the long hours worked in sitting periods, the
level of skills required to be exercised under sometimes extreme difficulties
and the stress and pressure placed on the Hansard staff during sitting periods
through the requirements of the Parliament. The allowance is to be treated as
salary for all purposes. Hansard staff
shall, in non-sitting periods, be required to attend for duty each day unless
on approved leave or deemed not required at the discretion of the Editor of
Debates.
5.
Hours of Work
(a) The working
hours of staff and the manner of their recording, shall be as determined from
time to time by the Editor of Debates.
(b) Reporting staff
shall, in non-sitting periods, be required to attend for duty each day unless
on approved leave or deemed not required at the discretion of the Editor of
Debates.
(c) The Editor of
Debates may require a staff member to perform extended hours of duty associated
with the sittings of the Houses of Parliament and their Committees, but only if
it is reasonable for the staff member to be required to do so. In determining
what is reasonable, the staff member’s prior commitments outside the workplace,
particularly the staff member’s family responsibilities, community obligations
or study arrangements shall be taken into account. Consideration shall be given
also to the urgency of the work required to be performed during extended
periods of work, the impact on the operational commitments of the organisation
and the effect on client services.
(d) The Editor of
Debates shall ensure that all staff members employed in the department are
informed of the hours of duty required to be worked and of their rights and
responsibilities in respect of such hours of duty.
6.
Leave Entitlements
(a)
(i) Annual Leave -
Reporting staff shall accrue 30 days annual leave each 12 months of service.
(ii) Limits on
Accumulation of recreation leave and direction to take leave:
At least two (2) consecutive weeks of recreation leave
shall be taken by a staff member every 12 months for recreation purposes,
except by agreement with the Editor of Debates in special circumstances.
Where the operational requirements permit, the
application for leave shall be dealt with by the Editor of Debates according to
the wishes of the staff member.
The relevant department head shall notify the staff
member in writing when accrued recreation leave reaches 8 weeks or its hourly
equivalent, and at the same time may direct a staff member to take at least 2 weeks
recreation leave within 3 months, or a longer period if the relevant Department
Head considers that appropriate given the requirements of the department.
The relevant Department Head shall notify the staff
member in writing when accrued recreation leave reaches 10 weeks or its hourly
equivalent and may direct the staff member to take at least 2 weeks recreation
leave within 6 weeks of the notification. Such leave is to be taken at a time
convenient to the department.
(b) All Reporting
Staff working part time, or under job-share arrangements are eligible to the
leave entitlements which will accrue on a pro-rata basis.
(c) An amount of
leave may be taken, on or pro-rata basis, within the first 12 months of service
and during each 12 months of service
thereafter, where a sufficient amount of leave has been accrued up to the date
upon which the leave is to be taken.
(d) Except where
otherwise provided by this Award, Reporting staff shall be entitled to the same
leave entitlements as found in clauses 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50,
51 and 51A of the Crown Employees (Parliament House Conditions of Employment)
Award 2015 or any replacement thereof.
7. Family and
Community Service Leave, Personal / Carer’s Leave and Flexible Use of Other
Leave Entitlements
7.1 Definitions
The definition of "family" and
"relative" for these purposes is the same as that provided in the
Standard Clause of the State Personal/Carer's Leave Case (30 August 1996). The
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 purposes of
this paragraph:
1. 'relative'
means - person related to blood, marriage or affinity;
2. 'affinity'
means - relationship that one spouse because of marriage has to blood relatives
of the other; and
3. 'household'
means - a family group living in the same domestic dwelling.
7.2 Family and
Community Service Leave - general
(a) The Department
Head shall grant to an employee some, or all, of their accrued family and community
services leave on full pay, for reasons relating to unplanned and emergency
family responsibilities or other emergencies in sub clause (b). The Department
Head may also grant leave for the purposes in sub clause (c). Non-emergency
appointments or duties shall be scheduled or performed outside normal working
hours or through approved use of flexible working arrangements or other
appropriate leave.
(b) Family and
Community Service Leave replaces Short Leave.
An employee is not to be granted family and community
service leave for attendance at court to answer a criminal charge, unless the
Editor of Debates approves the grant of leave in the particular case.
7.3 Family and
Community Service Leave - entitlement.
(a) Family and
community service leave shall accrue as follows:
(i) 2 ½ days in the
employee’s first year of services;
(ii) 2 ½ days in the
employee’s second year of service; and
(iii) one day per
year thereafter.
(b) Family and
Community Service Leave is available to part-time employees on a pro rata
basis, based on the number of hours worked.
(c) Where family
and community service leave has been exhausted, additional paid family and
community service leave of up to 2 days may be granted on a discreet, 'per
occasion' basis to an employee on the death of a person as defined in Clause
7.1 Definitions above.
7.4 Use of sick
leave to care for a sick dependant - general
When family and community service leave, as outlined in
subclause 7.3 above, is exhausted, the sick leave provisions under subclause
7.5 may be used by an employee to care for a sick dependant.
7.5 Use of sick
leave to care for a sick dependant - entitlement
(a) The entitlement
to use sick leave in accordance with this clause is subject to:
(i) the employee
being responsible for the care and support of the person concerned, and
(ii) the person
concerned being as defined in subclause 7.1 Definitions of this clause.
(b) An employee with
responsibilities in relation to a person who needs their care and support shall
be entitled to use sick leave available from that year's annual sick leave
entitlement minus any sick leave taken from that year's 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 7.5 (b) above, sick leave accrued 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 relevant
Department Head may, in special circumstances, make a grant of additional sick
leave. This grant can only be taken from sick leave accrued prior to the period
referred to in subclause 7.5(c) above.
(e) The employee
shall, if required, establish either by production of a medical certificate or
statutory declaration, the illness of the person concerned and that the illness
is such 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.
The employee is not required to state the exact nature
of the relevant illness on either a medical certificate or statutory
declaration.
(g) 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.
(h) In normal
circumstances, the employee must not take leave under this subclause where
another person has taken leave to care for the same person.
7.6 Time Off in Lieu
of Payment for Overtime
There is no provision for time off in lieu of overtime
as clause 4, All incidence of Employment Allowance replaces payment for
overtime with an annual allowance prescribed in this award.
7.7 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 a later time, during the spread of ordinary hours, 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 for
family or community service responsibilities and works those hours at a later
time) at the shift work rate which would have been applicable to the hours
taken off.
7.8 Use of other
leave entitlements
The relevant Department Head 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:
(a) recreation
leave;
(b) extended leave;
and
(c) leave without
pay.
7.9 Grievance and
dispute handling process
In the event of any grievance or dispute arising in
connection with any part of the provisions of this determination, such a
grievance or dispute shall be processed in accordance with the grievance and
dispute handling provisions in clause 11 of this award.
8.
Saving of Rights
At the time of the making of this award, no employee covered
by this award will suffer a reduction in his or her rate of pay or loss or
diminution in his or her conditions of employment as a consequence of the
making of this award.
9.
Anti-Discrimination
(i) It is the
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
10.
Dispute Avoidance and Settling Procedures
While the steps in the procedure are being followed, normal
working arrangements are to continue. However, if because of the nature of a
grievance or dispute it is not possible to maintain normal working arrangements
while the procedure is being followed, the Clerks may authorise alternative
working arrangements.
Step 1
The employee(s) should advise their supervisor as to
the nature of the grievance or dispute, request a meeting to discuss it and
state the remedy sought. Where possible,
the grievance or dispute should be given to the supervisor in writing.
The supervisor and employee(s) should meet within three
working days of the grievance or dispute being lodged, in an attempt to resolve
the matter.
If the grievance or dispute is not resolved, proceed to
Step 2.
Step 2
A meeting should be held between the employee(s) and,
at their request, a union workplace delegate and the Editor of Debates. This
meeting should be held within five working days of the conclusion of Step 1.
If the grievance or dispute in not resolved, proceed to
step 3.
Step 3
A meeting should be held between the employee(s) and,
at their request, a union workplace delegate and paid union official, and the
Editor of Debates and the relevant Department Head and/or their
representatives. The meeting should be held within five working days of the
completion of Step 2.
If the grievance is not resolved at this stage, the
relevant Department Head will provide a written response to the employee(s) who
lodged the grievance or dispute. The
response will give reasons why any proposed remedy has not been agreed to or
implemented.
If the grievance or dispute is not resolved, proceed to
Step 4.
Step 4
If the parties agree, the grievance or dispute may be
referred to an independent mediator or arbitrator. At this stage, both parties have the right to
refer the matter to the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales.
11.
No Extra Claims
The parties agree that, during the term of this Award, there
will be no extra wage claims, claims for improved conditions of employment or
demands made with respect to the employees covered by the Parliamentary
Reporting Staff (Salaries) Award and, further, that no proceedings, claims or
demands concerning wages or conditions of employment with respect to those
employees will be instituted before the Industrial Relations Commission or any
other industrial tribunal.
The terms of the preceding paragraph do not prevent the
parties from taking any proceedings with respect to the interpretation,
application or enforcement of existing Award provisions.
12.
Review of Award
The parties agree that, during the term of this Award, they
will commit to reviewing this award to ensure it meets the contemporary
requirements of the Hansard service, and to ensure safe working conditions
exist for Parliamentary Reporting Staff.
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 - Salaries effective
from the first full pay period after 1 July 2022:
|
Classification
|
1 July 2021
$
|
1 July 2022
$
|
|
Reporter
|
|
|
|
1st year of service
|
98,451
|
100,942
|
|
2nd year of service
|
102,404
|
104,995
|
|
3rd year of
service
|
107,792
|
110,519
|
|
4th year of service
|
112,253
|
115,093
|
|
5th year of service
|
115,482
|
118,404
|
|
Senior Reporter
|
118,909
|
121,918
|
|
Sub Editor
|
128,098
|
131,339
|
|
Senior Sub Editor
|
135,729
|
139,163
|
|
Deputy Editor
|
144,088
|
147,733
|
Table 2 - All Incidence
of Employment Allowance - all classifications
|
1 July 2021
|
1 July 2022
|
|
$
|
$
|
|
19,852
|
20,354
|
C. MUIR, Commissioner
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.