Nurses' (Department of Ageing, Disability & Home Care) (State) Award 2005

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

Application by New South Wales Nurses' Association, Industrial Organisation of Employees.

 

(No. IRC 1609 of 2006)

 

 

VARIATION

 

1.          Insert in numerical order in the Arrangement of the award published 8 July 2005 (352 I.G. 246), the following new clauses and subject matter and renumber clauses 21, Leave Reserved and clause 22, Area, Incidence and Duration to read as clause 22 and 23 respectively:

 

5A.      Pilot Roster Projects

21.       Salary Sacrifice to Superannuation’

22.       Leave Reserved

23.       Area, Incidence and Duration

 

2.          Delete from clause 2, Definitions, of the definition of "Large Residence", and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

"Large Residence" means any large residential campus providing a range of services which may include accommodation, respite care, day activity services and some medical and paramedical services to clients.  These include:

 

Metro Residences incorporating the Marsden, Rydalmere and Lachlan Residences;

 

Hunter Residences incorporating the Stockton, Kanangra, Peat Island and Tomaree Residences;

 

Riverside Residence; Grosvenor Residence.

 

3.          Delete subclause (xii) of clause 4, Hours of Work and Free Time of Employees, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

(xii)

 

(a)        Each employee shall be free from duty for not less than two full days in each week or four full days in each fortnight and no duties shall be performed by the employee on any of such free days except for overtime.  Where practicable, days off shall be consecutive, unless an employee requests otherwise.

 

(b)       For the purpose of this subclause "full day" means from midnight to midnight or midday to midday.

 

4.          Insert after clause 5, Rosters, the following new clause:

 

5A.  Pilot Roster Projects

 

(i)         Notwithstanding any other provision of this Award, pilot Roster Projects for the purposes of trialing flexible roster practices or 12 hour shifts may be implemented on the following basis:

 

a.          The terms of the Pilot Roster Project shall be agreed in writing between the employer and the Association on behalf of the nurses participating in the project.  Provided that the Association shall not unreasonably delay in responding to, a Pilot Roster Project proposed by an employer.

 

b.         The terms shall include

 

1.         the duration of the project; and the conditions of the project; and

 

2.         the award provisions required to be overridden in order to implement the project; and

 

3.         review mechanisms to assess the effectiveness of the project.

 

c.          Whilst the Pilot Roster Project is being conducted according to its terms, the employer shall not be deemed to be in breach of the award by reason alone of implementing the project.

 

d.         Any purported Roster Project Pilot which does not comply with this clause is not a Pilot Roster Project for the purposes of this clause and in particular no employer shall be able to claim the benefit of subclause (c) when implementing such project.

 

(ii)        The Association agrees to participate in a review of the operation of this clause, if requested by the Department.

 

5.          Insert after subclause (v), of clause 9, Special Allowances, the following new subclause (vi) and renumber the existing subclause (vi) to read as (vii):

 

(vi)       A registered nurse who relieves in a Nurse Manager After Hours position during short absences of the substantive occupant shall be paid an allowance at a rate calculated on the difference between the rate of pay of the registered nurse and the rate of pay for Nurse Manager Grade 1 year 1 for the time so spent up to 2 hours and for the whole of the shift for time so spent in excess of 2 hours.

 

6.          Delete the words "Item 4" wherever appearing in clause 11, Uniforms, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

"Item 5"

 

7.          Delete paragraph (vii) (a), of clause 12, Overtime, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

(a)        The meals referred to in subclauses (v) and (vi) of this clause shall be allowed to the employee free of charge.  Where the Department is unable to provide such meals, an allowance per meal as calculated hereunder shall be paid to the employee concerned.

 

8.          Insert after clause 20, Anti-Discrimination, the following new clause and renumber the existing clauses accordingly:

 

21.  Salary Sacrifice to Superannuation

 

(i)         Notwithstanding the salaries prescribed in clause 8, Salaries, of this Award, and Part B to this Award, an employee may elect, subject to the agreement of the Department, to sacrifice a portion of the salary payable under clause 8 and Part B to this Award, to additional employer superannuation contributions.  Such election must be made prior to the commencement of the period of service to which the earnings relate.  The amount sacrificed must not exceed fifty (50) percent of the salary payable under clause 8 or fifty (50) percent of the currently applicable superannuable salary, whichever is the lesser. In this clause, "superannuable salary" means the employee’s salary as notified from time to time to the New South Wales public sector superannuation trustee corporations.

 

(ii)        Where the employee has elected to sacrifice a portion of that payable salary to additional employer superannuation contributions:

 

(a)        subject to Australian Taxation law, the sacrificed portion of salary will reduce the salary subject to appropriate PAYE taxation deductions by the amount of that sacrificed portion; and

 

(b)        any allowance, penalty rate, payment for unused leave entitlements, weekly worker’s compensation or other payment, other than any payments for leave taken in service, to which an employee is entitled under this Award or any applicable Award, Act or statute which is expressed to be determined by reference to an employee’s salary, shall be calculated by reference to the salary which would have applied to the employee under clause 8 of this Award in the absence of any salary sacrifice to superannuation made under this Award.

 

(iii)       The employee may elect to have the portion of payable salary which is sacrificed to additional employer superannuation contributions:

 

(a)        paid into the superannuation scheme established under the First State Superannuation Act 1992 as optional employer contributions; or

 

(b)        subject to the Department’s agreement, paid into a private sector complying superannuation scheme as employer superannuation contributions.

 

(iv)       Where an employee makes an election in terms of subclause (iii) of this clause, the employer shall pay the portion of salary, the subject of election, to the relevant superannuation fund.

 

(v)        Where the employee is a member of a superannuation scheme established under the:

 

(a)        Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906;

 

(b)        Superannuation Act 1916;

 

(c)        State Authorities Superannuation Act 1987;

 

(d)        State Authorities Non-contributory Superannuation Act 1987; or

 

(e)        First State Superannuation Act 1992,

 

the employee’s Department must ensure that the amount of any additional employer superannuation contributions specified in subclause (i) of this clause is included in the employee’s superannuable salary which is notified to the New South Wales public sector superannuation trustee corporations.

 

(vi)       Where, prior to electing to sacrifice a portion of their salary to superannuation, an employee had entered into an agreement with their Department or agency to have superannuation contributions made to a superannuation fund other than a fund established under legislation listed in subclause (v) of this clause, the Department or agency will continue to base contributions to that fund on the salary payable under clause 8 to the same extent as applied before the employee sacrificed portion of that salary to superannuation.  This clause applies even though the superannuation contributions made by the Department or agency may be in excess of superannuation guarantee requirements after the salary sacrifice is implemented.

 

9.          Insert at the end of Schedule 1 - Nurse Manager and Administrative Support Positions, the following:

 

Nurse Manager After Hours - Nurse Manager Grade 1

 

Marsden, Rydalmere, Stockton and Kanangra’

 

10.        Delete Part B Monetary Rates, and insert in lieu thereof the following:

 

Part B

 

MONETARY RATES

 

Table 1 - Salaries

 

 

Table 2 - Other Rates and Allowances

 

 

11.        This variation shall take effect from the beginning of the first pay period to commence on or after 24 March 2006.

 

 

 

J. McLEAY, Commissioner

 

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Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.