SACS equal remuneration decision 2012
On 11 March 2010 the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, the Health Services Union, the Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland, the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union and the Australian Education Union lodged an application for an Equal Remuneration order for social and community workers in the federal system across Australia.
The full bench of Fair Work Australia (FWA) decided on 1 February 2012 that the rates of pay in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (the Modern Award) were to receive increases ranging from 19% to 41%. These increases will be phased in over nine (9) equal instalments commencing on 1 December 2012 and ending on 1 December 2020. The full list of the total increases is below.
This increase will closely align the Modern Award with the Queensland Community Services and Crisis Assistance Award 2008 (the Qld Award) rates of pay after that awards pay equity decision. The margin between the current Modern Award rates and the Qld Award rates are detailed below.
The decision allows for employees receiving above award payments to absorb the annual increases. However, this will be subject to the terms of the employment contract. This means for example, that if an employee is receiving $0.50 per hour more than the Modern Award rate of pay and the increase to the Modern Award rate is $0.75 per hour, the above award wage would absorb $0.50 and the employee would receive a $0.25 per hour increase.
However, there are several key distinctions between the Modern Award and the Qld Award.
The Modern Award equal remuneration decision has applied specific wage increases to each level which applies to all pay points within that level. The Qld Award contained specific wage increases to each pay point. This difference will mean that at the end of the transitioning period, some rates will be either higher or lower between the awards depending on which pay point applies.
The Qld Award had no transitional period other than an additional 1% applied annually over 4 years from 2010. FWA has identified that the employers in the industry could be at risk if the increases were not transitioned, or employees could have a reduction in their working conditions or even redundancies. Therefore, the equal remuneration wage increases will transition annually on 1 December from 2012 until 2020. The federal government has committed to fund its share of the increased costs. Meanwhile, state governments have neither committed to, nor rejected, additional funding for organisations.
Whilst the Qld Award provides for an additional 4% phased in over 4 years in addition to the increased rates of pay, FWA has decided to include this additional increase but with a different phasing period. For similar reasons as stated above, FWA has decided to phase in the additional 4% over the entire nine (9) annual instalments.
What the decision means for organisations is that each year until December 2020, the employer is to provide employees with:
- Transitioning of existing minimum wages; plus
- Transitioning of loadings and penalties; plus
- The annual Federal Wage Increase from 1 July each year; plus
- Part of the equal remuneration increase from 1 December each year; plus
- Part of the additional 4% increase (equivalent to 0.444%) from 1 December each year.
We note that employees classified as Family Day Care and Home Care employees under the Modern Award transition on 1 February 2012 prior to the 1 July transition.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the above, please contact Travis Lancaster, Consultant.
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Classification
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Increases in Modern Award granted by Equal Remuneration Decision
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Current margin between Modern Award and Qld Award
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Level 2 Year 1
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19%
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18%
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Level 2 Year 2
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19%
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18%
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Level 2 Year 3
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19%
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19%
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Level 2 Year 4
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19%
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20%
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Level 3 Year 1
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22%
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20%
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Level 3 Year 2
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22%
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22%
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Level 3 Year 3
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22%
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22%
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Level 3 Year 4
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22%
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23%
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Level 4 Year 1
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28%
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28%
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Level 4 Year 2
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28%
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27%
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Level 4 Year 3
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28%
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28%
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Level 4 Year 4
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28%
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29%
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Level 5 Year 1
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33%
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33%
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Level 5 Year 2
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33%
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33%
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Level 5 Year 3
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33%
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33%
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Level 6 Year 1
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36%
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36%
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Level 6 Year 2
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36%
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36%
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Level 6 Year 3
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36%
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35%
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Level 7 Year 1
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38%
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38%
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Level 7 Year 2
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38%
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38%
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Level 7 Year 3
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38%
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38%
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Level 8 Year 1
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41%
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41%
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Level 8 Year 2
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41%
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41%
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Level 8 Year 3
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41%
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41%
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Federal SACS Wage Outcome
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Queensland SACS Wage Outcome
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Specific wage increase for each level (applied consistently to each year/pay point)
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Specific wage increase for each level and year/pay point
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Transition over 8 years in 9 equal instalments (1 December 2012 to 1 December 2020)
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No transition applies
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Wage increases are additional to the annual increase in all Modern Awards set by the Minimum Wage Panel of FWA
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Wage increases are additional to the annual increase in all State Awards set by the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission
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Additional 0.444% added to the rates each December through to 2020
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Additional 1% added to the rates each September through to 2015 (commenced 2010)
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