CROWN EMPLOYEES (RESOURCE NSW) AWARD 2005

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

Review of Award pursuant to Section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.

 

(No. IRC 683 of 2005)

 

 

REVIEWED AWARD

 

PART A

 

Arrangement

 

PART A

 

Clause No.          Subject Matter

 

1.         Definitions

2.         Parties

3.         Salary System

4.         Transition Arrangements

5.         Working Hours and Arrangements

6.         Overtime

7.         Easter Half Day

8.         Excess Travelling Time

9.         Annual Leave Loading

10.       Delegates Rights and Obligations

11.       Industrial Grievance Procedure

12.       Anti-Discrimination Clause

13.       Area, Incidence and Duration

 

PART B

 

MONETARY RATES

 

Table 1 - Salaries

 

1.  Definitions

 

1.1        "Class" means a Class listed in Clause 3, Salary System of this Award.

 

1.2        "Chief Executive" means the Chief Executive of Resource NSW.

 

1.3        "RNSW" means Resource NSW.

 

1.4        "Officer" means an employee of Resource NSW employed under Chapter 2 of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002 other than those employed as Public Sector Executives.

 

1.5        "Reporting Officer" means an Officer who has direct supervisory responsibility for a staff member, for performance management and reporting purposes.

 

1.6        "Salary Point" means a salary nominated within a Class.

 

1.7        "Union" means the Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales or the Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers Australia (NSW Branch), having regard to their respective coverage.

 

2.  Parties

 

The parties to this Award are:

 

The Public Employment Office;

 

Resource NSW;

 

The Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales; and

 

The Association of Professional Engineers, Scientists and Managers, Australia (NSW Branch).

 

3.  Salary System

 

3.1        The rates of pay for Officers of Resource NSW will be in accordance with the monetary rates contained in Part B, Table 1.

 

3.2        Each Officer will be classified as a Resource Officer and qualifications required for appointment to a position will be determined by the Chief Executive having regard to the duties of the position.

 

3.3        The level of appointment to a salary point within a Class will be determined by the Chief Executive or nominee, following assessment of an applicant's past work experience in a related field and/or relevant skill levels and/or educational qualifications.  Where an Officer is promoted to a higher Class, they will move to the minimum salary point of the higher Class, or at least one salary point above their current substantive salary, whichever is the higher.

 

3.4        Applicants who are appointed as a Resource Officer within Resource NSW and who possess the Higher School Certificate or equivalent will be appointed to no less than salary point 2 of Class 1.

 

3.5        Any Resource Officer aged 21 years or over shall be paid no less than the salary prescribed for salary point 4 of Class 1.

 

3.6        Movement from one salary point to another within a Class will be on an annual basis, subject to satisfactory conduct and performance of duties.

 

3.7        Movement from Class to Class will be by way of appointment through merit selection to a vacancy.

 

3.8        The rates of pay in this award reflect the salary increases prescribed in the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries 2004) Award.

 

4.  Transition Arrangements

 

4.1        Staff transferred from former Waste Boards shall be initially transferred to the classification of Resource Officer in accordance with the agreed placement policy.

 

4.2        Where a staff member submits to the Chief Executive that they may have been disadvantaged by the transitional arrangements in the agreed placement policy, their individual circumstances will be assessed on a case by case basis and consideration will be given to previous remuneration and/or entitlements.

 

5.  Working Hours and Arrangements

 

5.1        Ordinary Working Hours

 

Full-time ordinary working hours shall be 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

 

5.2        Bandwidth

 

Bandwidth is the period during the day when staff may record time worked.

 

5.3        Standard Bandwidth

 

The Standard Bandwidth is 10.5 hours commencing at 7.30 am and ceasing at 6.00 pm.  The maximum number of hours that can be recorded as being worked under this bandwidth is 10 hours (10.5 hours less a 0.5 hour lunch break).  This will be the bandwidth that an Officer of Resource NSW operates under unless their bandwidth is varied as per sub-clause 5.4.

 

5.4        Variable Bandwidth

 

The Standard Bandwidth hours may be varied at an Officer's request and with prior approval, to start as early as 5.30 am or finish as late as 8.00 pm, provided that changing the bandwidth does not of itself incur additional overtime, meal money payments or travelling compensation claims.

 

The maximum number of hours Officers may record as being worked in a day remains at 10 hours (10.5 hours less a 0.5 hour lunch break).  Under these arrangements the earliest possible bandwidth for an Officer will be 5.30 am to 4.00 pm and the latest possible bandwidth will be 9.30 am to 8.00 pm.

 

5.5        Coretime

 

Coretime is the specified period during the day when staff are required to be on duty, unless on authorised leave.

 

5.6        Standard Coretime

 

The Standard Coretime hours for Resource NSW will be 9.30 am to 3.30 pm.  The maximum meal break which can be taken by an Officer during Standard Coretime is 2.5 hours (as per clause 5.8.1), such that the minimum an Officer must work during Coretime, exclusive of a meal break, is 3.5 hours.  These Coretime arrangements will apply to an Officer of Resource NSW unless they vary their Coretime as per sub-clause 5.7.

 

5.7        Variable Coretime

 

5.7.1     Where an Officer proposes to vary their Coretime (ie they do not wish to work the Standard Coretime), they must seek the prior approval of their Reporting Officer. Variation of Coretime will not be agreed by the Reporting Officer if he/she considers that the proposed arrangement will result in withdrawal of service or impediment to work area operations.

 

5.7.2     An Officer may vary his/her Coretime such that they work a minimum of 3.5 hours between the hours of 8.30 am and 5.00 pm.  Wherever possible, the Officer should work at least 3.5 hours continuously during that period, ie without a meal break (see sub clause 5.8.2 for meal break requirements).  The proposed hours to be worked under such an arrangement are to be clearly defined at the time approval is sought.

 

5.7.3     If an Officer commences duty after the commencement of their agreed Coretime hours, or ceases duty prior to the cessation of their agreed Coretime without prior approval (ie is not on approved leave), the Officer will have the appropriate amount of recreation leave debited, from their Recreation Leave balance, in multiples of a quarter-day.

 

5.8        Meal Breaks

 

5.8.1     An Officer on the Standard Bandwidth and Coretime is entitled to take a meal break between the hours of 11.30 am and 2.30 pm.  The minimum meal break is 30 minutes and the maximum is 2.5 hours.

 

5.8.2     An Officer working a Variable Bandwidth and/or Coretime may take their meal break at a time agreed between the Officer and their Reporting Officer.  The minimum meal break is 30 minutes and the maximum is 2.5 hours.  An Officer shall not be required to be on duty for more than 5 hours from the time of commencement without a meal break.

 

5.9        Flex Days

 

5.9.1     Ordinary Flex Day

 

An Officer may take one 'Ordinary' Flex Day per settlement period (as described in Clause 20 of the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2002.

 

5.9.2     Ordinary Flex Day Accrual

 

Where organisational requirements prevent the Officer taking their Ordinary Flex Day during a settlement period, or where it is at the request of the Officer and the Reporting Officer agrees, that flex day may be accrued at the end of the settlement period provided that the Officer's balance does not fall below a debit of 10 hours.

 

5.9.3     Second Flex Day

 

An Officer who has taken their Ordinary Flex Day in a settlement period may, in addition, accrue a second flex day (or ½ Flex day) at the end of the settlement period if they have a balance of at least 7 hours credit (after deducting contract hours).

 

5.9.4     Accrued Flex Days

 

(a)        Only one Flex Day (either the Ordinary Flex Day or the Second Flex Day) may be accrued and carried over from any settlement period.

 

(b)       An Officer may accumulate up to 4 Accrued Flex Days, which shall be taken at a mutually convenient time.

 

(c)        An Officer may take their Accrued Flex Days in combination with an Ordinary Flex Day.  A maximum of 5 consecutive working days may be taken by this arrangement.

 

5.9.5     Where an Officer combines Accrued Flex days with the accrual of Time Off In Lieu of Excess Travelling time as set out in Clause 8, the maximum number of flex days that can be accrued may not exceed four days at any time.

 

6.  Overtime

 

6.1        An Officer will be eligible for Overtime where:

 

(a)        They are directed to work before or after their agreed bandwidth; or

 

(b)        They are directed to work beyond 7 hours (excluding a meal break) on a particular day.

 

6.2        The Overtime Barrier (i.e. the maximum rate that will be paid to any Officer required to work Overtime) will be Class 8 Salary Point 4 as set out in Part B, Monetary Rates.

 

6.3        An officer may refuse to work overtime in circumstances where the working of such overtime would result in the officer working hours which are unreasonable.

 

6.4        For the purposes of paragraph 6.3 what is unreasonable or otherwise will be determined having regard to:

 

6.4.1     any risk to officer health and safety;

 

6.4.2     the officer’s personal circumstances including any family and carer responsibilities;

 

6.4.3     the needs of the workplace or enterprise;

 

6.4.4     the notice (if any) given by Resource NSW of the overtime and by the officer of his or her intention to refuse it; and

 

6.4.5     any other relevant matter.

 

7.  Easter Half Day

 

7.1        Notwithstanding the provisions of the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2002, Clause 20, Officers will be granted an additional 3.5 hours flex leave during the Easter Flex period which may be taken on the day immediately prior to, or following Easter i.e. "Easter Half Day".

 

7.2        Subject to organisational convenience, an Officer may use other accumulated leave in combination with the 3.5 hours additional flex leave contained in sub-clause 7.1 above, in order to take the whole day off, however there is no automatic entitlement to this.

 

7.3        Where, in order to ensure an adequate service to clients, an Officer is directed to work the days prior to and after Easter, the Officer shall be able to take the additional 3.5 hours flex leave within one month of Easter Sunday.

 

8.  Excess Travelling Time

 

8.1        Time spent travelling, as defined under the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2002 Clause 25: before the agreed bandwidth commences, and up to 1 hour thereafter, and from one hour prior to the end of the agreed bandwidth, shall be able to be claimed as "Travelling Time".  Provided that Travelling time shall not include any period of travel between 11.00 pm on any one day and the start of the Officer's bandwidth on the following day where the Officer has travelled overnight and sleeping facilities have been provided for the Officer.

 

8.2        Where organisational requirements prevent an Officer taking Time Off In Lieu of Excess Travelling Time within the time frame allowed under the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2002 or where it is at the request of the Officer and their Reporting Officer agrees, this time may be accumulated such that: it may be accrued in minimum ½ day amounts up to 4 days, or added to the officer's Accrued Flex Days under Clause 5.9.4 to be taken at a mutually convenient time.  Where Time Off In Lieu of Excess Travelling time is added to the Officer's Accrued flex days, the maximum balance of Accrued flex days will not exceed four days at any time.

 

9.  Annual Leave Loading

 

An Officer who is eligible for leave loading, may elect to:

 

9.1        be paid their leave loading when they take sufficient leave (ie Recreation leave and/or Extended leave together with Flex days and/or public holidays totalling 10 or more week days); OR

 

9.2        defer their payment until the end of the relevant leave year, ie 30 November. Wherever possible, payment will be made on the first pay day after 30 November.

 

10.  Delegates Rights and Obligations

 

10.1      An Officer elected as a Union delegate will, upon written notification by the Union to Resource NSW, be recognised as the accredited representative of that Union, and will be allowed all reasonable time during working hours to attend to Union business and to consult with management on matters affecting the Officers they represent.  Such consultations should be arranged for times that are convenient to both parties.

 

10.2      Delegates will inform their Reporting Officer of the need to absent themselves from their workplace, and will arrange a mutually acceptable time to attend to their Union duties.

 

10.3      Accredited delegates should recognise the need to balance their absence from the job on Union business with the requirements for acceptable work performance.

 

10.4      Resource NSW will provide access to the facilities and office equipment needed by delegates to perform their Union function effectively, thus maximising the mutual advantages of a consultative approach.

 

11.  Industrial Grievance Procedure

 

11.1      General

 

11.1.1               The aim of this procedure is to ensure that, during the life of this Award, industrial grievances, (including grievances within the meaning of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977) or disputes are prevented or resolved as quickly as possible at the level they occur in the workplace.

 

11.1.2               The parties agree that whilst the procedures contained in this Clause are being followed, there is an expectation that normal work will continue.

 

11.1.3               In seeking a resolution to any industrial dispute or industrial grievance, Resource NSW may be represented by an industrial organisation of employers, and the Officers of Resource NSW may be represented by an industrial organisation of employees.

 

11.2      Steps to Resolve Industrial Grievances or Disputes:

 

When a dispute or grievance arises, or is considered likely to occur, the following steps are to be followed:

 

Step 1:

 

The matter is discussed between the Officer(s) and the Reporting Officer concerned and addressed within one week.  The Officer(s) concerned may discuss the matter with the Union delegate, if so desired.

Where the grievance or dispute involves confidential or other sensitive material (including issues of harassment or discrimination under the Anti Discrimination Act 1977) that makes it impractical for the Officer(s) to advise the Reporting Officer the notification may occur to the next appropriate level of management, including where required, to the Chief Executive or delegate.

 

Step 2:

 

If, after a week since the matter was discussed with the Union delegate and the Reporting Officer the matter remains unresolved, the Officer(s) concerned may discuss the matter with the Union delegate and the Branch Director. If the matter remains unresolved follow Step 3.

 

Step 3:

 

If, after a week since the matter was discussed with the Union delegate and the Branch Director, the matter is still unresolved, the Officer(s) concerned may discuss the matter with the Branch Director, a representative of the Corporate Support Branch and a Union delegate and/or official.  Where it is agreed by the parties, and the matter is of an urgent nature, the Officer may go to Step 3 immediately. In the event that the parties agree to go to Step 3 immediately, no more than a week should elapse since the matter was first raised until Step 4 is followed.

 

Step 4:

 

The matter is discussed between senior representatives of Resource NSW and the relevant Union. The parties agree to exhaust the process of conciliation before considering Step 5 below.  It is agreed that the parties will not deliberately frustrate or delay these procedures. All efforts are to be made to resolve the matter promptly. The conciliation process should take no longer than one month, unless the parties agree to a longer period.

Step 5:

 

If no resolution is found, the matter may be referred to the Industrial Registrar in order for the Industrial Relations Commission or Industrial Court to exercise their functions under the Industrial Relations Act 1996.

 

12.  Anti-Discrimination

 

12.1      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, age and responsibilities as a carer.

 

12.2      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.

 

12.3      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.

 

12.4      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.

 

12.5      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.

 

12.6      Employers and employees may also be subject to Commonwealth anti-discrimination legislation.

 

12.7      Section 56(d) of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 provides:

 

"Nothing in the 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."

 

13.  Area, Incidence and Duration

 

13.1      This Award shall apply to all Officers of Resource NSW.

 

13.2      The Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of Employment) Award 2002 applies to all Officers of Resource NSW, except in relation to specific 'local arrangements' allowed under Clause 10 of that Award, and included in the Resource NSW Award. This award is made following a review under section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 and rescinds and replaces the Crown Employees (Resources NSW) Award 2002, published 9 August 2002 (335 IG 875) and all variations thereof.

 

13.3      The changes made to the award pursuant to the Award Review pursuant to section 19(6) of the Industrial Relations Act 1996 and Principle 26 of the Principles for Review of Awards made by the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales on 28 April 1999 (310 IG 359) take effect on and from 9 August 2005.

 

13.4.     The award remains in force until varied or rescinded, the period for which it was made having already expired.

 

PART B

 

MONETARY RATES

 

Salary Point ($ Per Annum)

 

 

 

 

R. W. HARRISON  D.P.

 

 

 

____________________

 

 

Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.