Parliamentary Reporting Staff (Salaries) Award

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

Application by The Speaker Legislative Assembly of NSW and The President Legislative Council of NSW.

 

(Case No. 305513 of 2022)

 

 

AWARD

 

PART A

 

1.  Arrangement

 

Clause No.        Subject Matter

 

1.        Arrangement

2.        Area, Incidence and Duration

3.        Classification and Salaries, Adjustments to Rates of Pay

3A.      Part Time Work

4.        All Incidence of Employment Allowance

5.        Hours of Work

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 effective from the first full pay period after:

Table 2 - All Incidence of Employment Allowance - all classifications

 

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 (387 I.G. 666).

 

(c)       This award shall take effect on and from 1 July 2022 and will remain in force until 30 June 2023.

 

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:

 

 

Table.  2 - All Incidence of Employment Allowance - All Classifications

 

 

 

 

C. Muir, Commissioner.

 

 

____________________

 

 

Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.