FORESTRY COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES (TRADING AS STATE FORESTS OF
NSW) SENIOR STAFF AWARD
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Notice of Award Review pursuant to
section 19 of the Industrial Relations
Act 1996.
(No. IRC 1039 of 2001)
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Before Mr Deputy President Grayson
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15 May 2001
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REVIEWED AWARD
Arrangements
Clause No. Subject Matter
1. Title
2. Definitions
3. Salaries
4. Salary Packaging Arrangements
5. Family and Community Service Leave
6. Dispute Resolution Procedure
7. Uniforms
8. Anti-Discrimination
9. Savings of Rights
10. Area, Incidence and Duration
Schedule 1
1. Title
This Award shall be known as the Forestry Commission of NSW
(trading as State Forests of NSW) Senior Staff Award.
2. Definitions
"Act" shall mean the Public Sector Management Act 1988, No 33.
"Award" shall mean this Forestry Commission of NSW
(trading as State Forests of NSW) Senior Staff Award.
"Association" shall mean the Public Service
Association of New South Wales.
"Officer" means and includes, all persons
permanently or temporarily employed under the provisions of the Public Sector Management Act 1988, or
other appropriate Acts, and who, as at the operative date of this Award were
occupying positions covered by this Award, or who after that date, are
appointed to or employed in one such position.
"State Forests" means the Forestry Commission of
New South Wales trading as State Forests of NSW.
"Senior Staff Enterprise Agreement" means
Agreement No 19/95.
3. Salaries
(1) All officers
shall be paid in accordance with the salary structure set out in Schedule 1 to
this Award.
(2) The Salary
level and relevant point on the salary scale will continue to be determined
through the OCR job evaluation methodology, and subject to satisfactory
performance and service.
(3) Salaries
described herein are paid in lieu of those contained in the Senior Staff
Enterprise Agreement No. 19/95.
4. Salary Packaging
Arrangements
Current packaging arrangements in respect of motor vehicles
will continue.
5. Family and
Community Service Leave, Personal/Carer’s Leave
and flexible use of
other leave entitlements
(1) The definition
of "family" and "relative" for the purposes of this clause
is the person who needs the officer’s care and support and is referred to as
the "person concerned" and is:
(a) a spouse of
the officer; 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 a legal guardian),
grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the officer or spouse or de facto spouse
of the officer; or
(d) a same sex
partner who lives with the officer as the de facto partner of that officer on a
bona fide domestic basis; or
(e) a relative of
the officer who is a member of the same household, where for the purposes of
this paragraph:
(i) "relative"
means a person related by blood, marriage or affinity;
(ii) "affinity"
means a relationship that one spouse because of marriage has to blood relatives
of the other; and
(iii) "household"
means a family group living in the same domestic dwelling.
(2) Family and
Community Services Leave - general
(a) The
appropriate Department Head may grant family and community service leave to an
officer:
(i) for reasons
related to the family responsibilities of the officer, or
(ii) for reasons
related to the performance of community service by the officer, or
(iii) in a case of
pressing necessity.
(b) Family and
Community Services Leave replaces short leave.
(c) An officer is
not to be granted family and community services leave for attendance at court
to answer a criminal charge, unless the appropriate Department Head approves
the grant of leave in the particular case.
(3) Family &
Community Service Leave - entitlement
(a) The maximum
amount of family and community services leave on full pay that may be granted
to an officer is:
(i) 2.5 working
days during the first year of service and 5 working days in any period of 2
years after the first year of service, or
(ii) 1 working day
for each year of service after 2 years continuous service, minus any period of
family and community service leave already taken by the officer, whichever is
the greater period.
(b) Once 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 discrete "per
occasion" basis to an officer on the death of a person defined in 5 (1)
above.
(4) Use of Sick
Leave to care for a sick dependent - general
When family and community service leave, as outlined in
subclause 5 (3) above is exhausted, the sick leave provisions under subclause 5
(5) may be used by an officer to care for a sick dependent.
(5) Use of sick
leave to care for a sick dependent - entitlement
(a) The
entitlement to use sick leave in accordance with this clause is subject to:
(i) the officer
being responsible for the care and support of the person concerned, and
(ii) the person
concerned being as defined in sub-clause 5 (1) above.
(b) An officer
with responsibilities in relation to a person who needs their care and support
shall be entitled to use any sick leave available 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 subclause 5 (5) (b) above, sick leave accrued from the
previous three years may also be assessed by an officer with responsibilities
in relation to a person who needs their care and support.
(d) The 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 5 (5) (c) above.
(e) The officer
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 as to require care by another person.
(f) The officer
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.
(g) The officer is
not required to state the exact nature of the relevant illness on either the
medical certificate or statutory declaration.
(h) The officer
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 officer, the reasons for taking such leave and the
estimated length of absence, the officer shall notify the employer by telephone
of such absence at the first opportunity on the day of absence.
(6) Time Off in
Lieu of Payment of Overtime
(a) For the
purpose only of providing care and support for a person defined above, and
despite the provisions of clause 3 of the Crown Employees (Overtime) Award, an
officer may elect, with the consent of the appropriate Departmental Head, to
take time off in lieu of payment of overtime at a time or times agreed with the
Department Head.
(b) Overtime taken
as time off during ordinary time hours shall be taken at ordinary time rate,
that is an hour for each hour worked.
(c) If, having
elected to take time as leave in accordance with subclause 5 (6) (a) above, the
leave is not taken for whatever reason, payment for time accrued at overtime
rates shall be made at the expiry of the twelve (12) month period or on
termination.
(d) Where no
election is made in accordance with subclause 5 (6) (a) above, the officer
shall be paid overtime rates in accordance with Crown Employees (Overtime)
Award.
(7) Use of Make-up
Time
(a) An officer may
elect, with the consent of the Department Head, to work "make-up
time". "Make-up time" is worked when the officer 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 officer on
shift work may elect, with the consent of the Department Head, to work
"make-up time" (under which the officer takes time off during
ordinary hours for family or community service responsibilities and work those
hours at a later time) at the shift work rate which would have been applicable
to the hours taken off.
(8) Use of other
leave entitlements
The appropriate Department Head may grant an officer other
leave entitlements for reasons related to family responsibilities, or community
service by the officer. An officer may elect, with the consent of the Department
Head, to take:
(a) recreation
leave;
(b) extended
leave; and
(c) leave without
pay.
6. Disputes
Resolution Procedures
All disputes or difficulties relating to the provisions of
this Award shall be dealt with as close to the source as possible, with
graduated steps for further attempts at resolution at higher levels of
authority within the appropriate Department, if required.
(1) An officer is
required to notify (in writing or otherwise) their immediate manager, as to the
substance of the grievance, dispute or difficulty, request a meeting to discuss
the matter, and if possible state the remedy sought.
(2) The immediate
manager shall convene a meeting in order to resolve the grievance, dispute or
difficulty within (2) days, or as soon as practicable, of the matter being
brought to attention.
(3) If the matter
remains unresolved with the immediate manager, the officer may request to meet
the appropriate person at the next level of management in order to resolve the
matter. This manager shall respond within two (2) days, or as soon as
practicable. This sequence of reference to successive levels of management may
be pursued by the member of staff until the matter is referred to the
Department Head.
(4) The Department
Head may refer the matter to the PEO for consideration.
(5) In the event
that the matter remains unresolved, the Department Head shall provide a written
response to the member of staff and any other party involved in the grievance,
dispute or difficult, concerning action to be taken, or the reasons for not
taking action, in relation to the matter.
(6) An officer may
request to be represented by an Association Representative.
(7) The officer or
Association on their behalf, or Department Head may refer the matter to the New
South Wales Industrial Relations Commission if the matter is unresolved
following the use of these procedures.
(8) The officer,
Association, Department and PEO shall agree to be bound by any lawful
recommendation, order or determination by the New South Wales Industrial
Relations Commission in relation to the grievance, dispute or difficulty.
(9) Whilst the
procedures are being followed, normal work undertaken prior to notification of
the grievance or dispute shall continue unless otherwise agreed between the
parties, or, in the case of a dispute involving Occupational Health and Safety.
If practicable, normal work shall proceed in such a manner to avoid any risk to
the health and safety of any officer, or member of the public.
7. Uniforms
Where Senior Staff are required to wear a uniform, the
uniform will be provided in the terms of the Collateral Agreement with the
Public Service Association of NSW.
8.
Anti-Discrimination
(1) 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
and age.
(2) 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.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) This clause
does not create legal rights or obligations in addition to those imposed upon
the parties by legislation referred to in this clause.
NOTES -
(a) Employers and
employees may also be subject to Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation.
(b) Section 56(d)
of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977
provides:
"Nothing in this Act affects...any other act or
practice of a body established to propagate religion that conforms to the
doctrines of that religion or is necessary to avoid injury to the religious
susceptibilities of the adherents of that religion".
9. Savings of Rights
(1) At the time of
making this Award, no officer covered by this Award will suffer a reduction in
his or her rate of pay or any loss or diminution in his or her conditions of
employment as a consequence of the making of this Award.
(2) Should there
be a variation of the Crown Employees (Public Sector Salaries 1997) Award or an
Award replacing that Award, senior staff will maintain the same salary
relationship to the rest of the Public Service. Any such salary increase will be reflected in this Award either
by variation to it or by the making of a new Award.
10. Area, Incidence
and Duration
This Award shall apply to all Senior Staff of the Forestry
Commission of New South Wales (Trading as State Forests of NSW) and currently
covered by Enterprise Agreement No 19/95, and should be read in conjunction
with the Enterprise Agreement.
The Award shall commence on the first full pay period on or
after 14 May 2001 and remain in force 12 months until 14 May 2002.
This Award rescinds and replaces the Forestry Commission of
New South Wales (Trading as State Forests of New South Wales) Senior Staff
Award published 30 October 1998 (306 IG 1361) and all variations thereof.
Schedule 1
SENIOR STAFF SALARY PAY RATES
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LEVEL
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3.1.2000
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1.1.2001
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2%
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2%
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1
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$78,606 - $83,116
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$80,178 - $84,778
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2
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$83,117 - $89,824
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$84,779 - $91,620
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3
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$89,825 - $94,325
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$91,621 - $96,212
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4
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$94,326 - $96,882
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$96,213 - $98,820
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J. P.
GRAYSON D. P.
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Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.