SENIOR MANAGERS (NATIONAL PARKS AND WILDLIFE SERVICE) AWARD 2001
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Notice of Award Review pursuant to
section 19 of the Industrial Relations
Act 1996.
(No. IRC 1265 of 2001)
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Before Mr Deputy President Sams
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28 May 2001
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REVIEWED AWARD
1. ARRANGEMENTS
Clause No. Subject Matter
1 Arrangements
2 Title of Award
3 Intention
4 Definitions
5 Salaries
6 Salary and Benefits Packaging
7 Allowances
8 Progression
9 Appointment
10 Higher Duties
11 Project Teams
12 Hours
13 Meal Breaks
14 Rest Breaks
15 Temporary Employees
16 Public Holidays
17 Public Service Holiday
18 Part-Time Working Arrangements
19 Job Sharing
20 Annual Leave
21 Concessional Leave
22 Sick Leave
23 Contact with Employees on Parental and
Maternity Leave
24 Family/Personal Leave
25 Leave Without Pay
26 Incident Conditions
27 Working From Home
28 Employer Sponsored Child Care
29 Dependant Care
30 Families and Field Work
31 Training and Development
32 Study Assistance
33 Workplace Accommodation
34 Consultation and Monitoring
35 Grievance and Disputes Procedure
36 Savings of Rights
37 Anti-Discrimination
38 Redundancy Entitlements
39 Area, Incidence and Duration
Annexure 1 Salaries on Review of Award
Annexure 2 Salary and Benefit Packaging
Options
2. Title Of Award
This Award will be known as the Senior Managers (National
Parks and Wildlife Service) Award 2001.
3. Intention
The purpose of this Award is to partially regulate the
salaries and conditions of employment for senior managers in the National Parks
and Wildlife Service.
The parties agree that the Award will be interpreted and
applied in a fair and equitable manner recognising that all employees of the
National Parks and Wildlife Service contribute to working with the community to
conserve and foster appreciation of nature, Aboriginal heritage and historic
heritage in New South Wales.
4. Definitions
"Accommodation" means - Home, place of abode or
residential address, Commercial: hotel/motel/guest house, or an Established/Non
Established camps.
"Association" means the Public Service Association
and Professional Officers Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales.
"Campaign" means those incidents where shift work
is introduced by the Incident Controller.
"Crew" means a group of up to five officers
assigned under the control of a Crew Leader to undertake incident management
duties.
"Crew Leader" means an officer responsible for
leading a crew to implement a strategy.
The Crew leader ensures the work is undertaken efficiently and safely,
and is responsible for managing and recording the crew’s operations.
"Crew Member" means an officer diverted from their
day-to-day activities to undertake work associated with the management of an
incident.
"Daily contract hours" are the number of ordinary
hours of work an employee is required to perform on an ordinary working day.
"Dependant" means a partner, husband, wife, child,
elderly parent or family member with a disability.
"Director-General" means the Director-General of
the National Parks and Wildlife Service or an officer acting under the
delegation of the Director-General.
"Dispute" is a disagreement between employees and
the Service concerning the employment relationship.
"Division Commander" means an officer who is under
the direction of an Operations Officer and who is responsible for a number of
sectors to which specific work tasks are allocated.
"Duty Officer" means an officer rostered for duty
or operating after hours, as directed by the Director-General, to serve as
co-ordinator of the Director-General’s emergency response organisation by
receiving and passing on reports and other information, altering reserve
resources where necessary, liaising with other organisations involved in
emergency response performing normal duties as required.
"Employee" means and includes all persons
permanently or temporarily employed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service,
under the provision of the Public Sector
Management Act, 1988.
"Family" means a group of persons of common
ancestry, or all persons living together in one household or a primary social
group consisting of parents and their offspring.
"Fieldwork" refers to work undertaken in the field
in an area away from an employee’s normal work location, and which precludes
the employee from returning to his/her normal place of abode at the conclusion
of each shift.
"Grievance" is any workplace problem which causes
an employee concern.
"Incident" means an unscheduled activity such as
wildfire suppression, wildlife rescue, flood and storm relief, search and
rescue, cetacean stranding, accident and substance spill attendance, or as
otherwise approved by the Director-General. (N.B. Does not include hazard
reductions)
"Incident Controller" means an officer responsible
for incident activities including the development and implementation of
strategic decisions and for approving the ordering and releasing of resources.
"Incident duties" means all work involved in
emergency incidents effort in which there is Service participation from when an
event is declared an incident until it is declared over by the Incident
Controller. Duties may include: the
initial reporting, reconnaissance, organisation of resources, control, mop-up,
patrol to completion of incident duties, and may involve office duties in the
organisation and direction of the emergency response as well as work at the
scene.
"Logistic
Officer" means an officer responsible for providing facilities, services,
and materials in support of the incident.
"Monday to Friday Workers" are employees whose
ordinary hours of work are Monday to Friday inclusive.
"Nominated working place" means the location where
an employee normally commences work.
"Ordinary working hours" means the average number
of hours the employee is required to work each week.
"Operations Officer" means an officer responsible
for the management of all operations directly applicable to the incident.
"Planning Officer" means an officer responsible
for the collection, evaluation, dissemination and use of information about the
incident and status of resources.
"Public Employment Office" is, for the purposes of
any Act, a statutory body representing the Crown.
"Project team" is a team of employees established
to work on a designated project.
"Rostered Day Off" means the day/s of the week
that the employee is not required to work, except those days that are taken as
approved leave, time in lieu or as an allocated day off.
"Sector Commander" means an officer who is
responsible for implementation of the designated portion of the Incident Action
Plan, allocation of resources within the sector, and reporting on progress of
command operations and status of resources within the sector.
"Senior Manager" means and includes all officers
employed under this Award who occupy a position which has been evaluated using
the Service’s points factor job evaluation system at 650 or more OCR points and
occupy a position which is designated as managerial by the Director-General.
"Service" means the NSW National Parks and
Wildlife Service.
"Settlement Period" is the 4-week roster period.
"7 Day Roster Workers" are employees whose
ordinary hours of work may be worked on any day, Monday to Sunday (inclusive).
"Standby" means when an officer has been directed
by the Director-General, or their nominee, to be available outside normal
working hours for immediate call-out or response.
"Supervisor" means an officer who has the
responsibility for managing the work and performance programme of a Senior
Manager.
5. Salaries
(i) Salaries will
be those set out in Annexure 1.
(ii) Salaries are
inclusive of leave loading.
(iii) The rates of
pay prescribed by this Award for employees classified Senior Managers are
compensation for early and late starts to work, work on weekends and Public
Holidays, annual leave loading, overtime (except as provided for in Clause 26
of this Award) and are in lieu of the following allowances:
Allowance for use of room at home as an office
Allowances for travel to and from work
Boot Allowance
Camping allowances
Camping equipment allowances
Community language allowance
Composite allowance
Diving allowance
First aid allowance
Flying allowance
Forage allowance
Kosciusko
Laundry and Dry Cleaning allowances
Meal allowances when performing overtime
On-call allowances
Specialist allowances
Travelling and meal allowances for attendance at
examinations
Travelling Compensation leave
6. Salary And
Benefits Packaging
(i) Salary and
benefit packaging arrangements are only available to Grade 3 Senior Managers.
(ii) By mutual
agreement with the Service, a Senior Manager Grade 3 may from time to time,
elect to receive:
(a) a benefit or
benefits selected from those contained in Annexure 2, and
(b) a salary equal
to the difference between the salary prescribed in respect of the Senior
Manager by Clause 5 of this Award, and the amount specified by the Service from
time to time for the benefit(s) provided to or in respect of the Senior Manager
in accordance with such agreement.
(iii) Such an
agreement will be recorded in writing and will be known as a Salary and Benefit
Packaging Agreement. The Agreement will
provide for the way in which leave on less than full pay; leave without pay;
the effect of promotion or demotion; termination of the Agreement and such
other matters as parties to the Agreement consider necessary are to be dealt
with.
(iv) A Salary and
Benefit Packaging Agreement shall be for a period of 12 months, unless a
shorter period is mutually agreed between Senior Manager and the Service at the
time of signing the Salary and Benefit Packaging Agreement.
(v) The Service
may vary the range and type of benefits available under Annexure 2 from time to
time, following discussion with the Association. Such variation shall apply to any existing or future Salary and
Benefit Packaging Agreement from the date of such variation.
(vi) The Service
will determine from time to time the value of the benefits provided in Annexure
2, following discussion with the Association.
Any variation in the value of a benefit will apply to any existing or
future Salary and Benefit Packaging Agreement from the date of such
variation. In this circumstance, the
Senior Manager may elect to terminate the Salary and Benefit Packaging
Agreement immediately.
(vii) Any allowance,
penalty or other payment other than leave payments, to which a Senior Manager
is entitled under this Award or any applicable award or statute which is
expenses to be determined by reference to a Senior Manager’s salary, will be
calculated by reference to the salary which would have applied to the Senior
Manager under Clause 5 of this Award, in the absence of the Salary and Benefit
Packaging Award made under this clause.
7. Allowances
(i) Expense
related allowances will be indexed from 1 July each year by the amount for the
national Consumer Price Index, as published by the Bureau of Statistics.
(A) Home Office
Allowance-
(i) A Senior
Manager who has an office established in their home for the purpose of
undertaking work at home, shall be entitled to claim the following expenses up
to a total maximum of $480 per annum;
• computer
hardware, computer software or other computing equipment
• office
furniture
• relevant
books, journals or magazines; and
• stationary
and computing consumable.
(ii) The allowance
is non cumulative and can only be used to cover expenses incurred during the
calendar year for which the allowance is claimed.
(iii) To claim the
allowance proof of expenditure is required, or in the case of amounts less than
$10.00, expenses would be documented.
(B) Remote Area
Allowance-
(i) The remote
areas allowance seeks to compensate staff for increased costs of living, the
climatic conditions of areas designated "remote" and the level of
disturbance of partners and family.
(ii) Remote area
means the area of the State of NSW situated on or to the west of a line
starting from the right bank of the Murray River opposite Swan Hill and then
passing through the following towns or localities in the following order,
namely, Conargo, Coleambally, Hay, Rankin’s Springs, Marsden, Condobolin, Peak
Hill, Nevertire, Gulargambone, Coonabarabran, Wee Waa, Moree, Warialda, Ashford
and Bonshaw, and includes a place situated in any such town. It also includes Nadgee, Montague Island and
Lord Howe Island.
(iii) The
allowances specified in subclause (iv) of this clause, will be paid to those
employees who meet the criteria set out in the Personnel Handbook and who live
in a remote area as defined in subclause (v) of this clause.
(iv) The allowance
replaces the Commonwealth allowance paid to employees on Lord Howe Island.
(v) The rates of
the allowances will be:
GRADE WITH
DEPENDANTS WITHOUT
DEPENDANTS
A $3,000 $2,100
B $4,000 $2,800
C $5,000 $3,500
For the purpose of this Award the following locations will
be included in Grades "B" and "C".
Grade "A" all
locations in remote areas, as defined, except those specified as Grade B or C
and including Nadgee.
Grade "B" is
payable to employees living in the following locations: Angledook, Barrigun,
Bourke, Brewarrina, Clare, Engonia, Goodooga, Ivanhoe, Lake Mungo, Lightening
Ride, Louth, Mungindi, Pooncarie, Redbank, Walgett, Wanaaring, Weilmoringle,
White Cliffs, Wilcannia, Wilandra and including Menindee, Kinchega, Macquarie
Marshes and Gunderbooka.
Grade "C" is
payable to employees living in the following locations: Fort Grey, Mootwingee,
Mount Wood, Nocoleche, Olive Downs, Tibooburra, Yathong and including Witta
Brinna, Tarawi, Irymple, Lord Howe Island and Montague Island.
(vi) Should staff
be located in other remote locations not specified in this Award, the grading
for payment will be determined between management and the relevant unions.
8. Progression
(i) Progression
within grades shall be by formal performance assessment.
(ii) Progression
to a higher grade shall be by competitive selection for an advertised vacancy.
9. Appointment
(i) Appointment
to a vacant position will be by way of competitive selection based on the merit
principle and in accordance with the provisions of the Public Sector Management Act 1988.
(ii) Appointment
to a higher starting salary point above the base level within the grade will be
determined by the Director-General or nominee, following assessment of the
successful applicant’s educational qualifications, past work experience in a
related field and/or relevant skill level.
10. Higher Duties
(i) Employees who
relieve in a higher position for a period of at least 5 consecutive work days,
will be paid a proportion (from 50%-100%) of the difference between the
substantive salary rate of the occupant of the higher position and the
employee’s salary. The proportions
shall depend on the range and level of duties performed in the position.
(ii) The terms and
conditions of the higher job apply for the duration of the relieving period.
(iii) The duties
and the amount of the higher duties allowance shall be mutually agreed to prior
to the relieving period.
11. Project Teams
(i) The
Director-General or nominee may request employees to perform work in a
designated project team.
(ii) An employee
may decline an offer to work in a designated project team.
(iii) When
undertaking work in a designated project team, the employee shall be paid:
the rate for the job as determined by job evaluation; or
at least one salary level higher than their substantive
rate.
(iv) An employee
working in a designated project team on a full-time basis will not be required
to carry out the duties of their substantive position in addition to the
project duties.
(v) Project team
jobs may be either full-time or part-time.
12. Hours
The organisation of work and ordinary hours will optimise
work effectiveness and the fulfilment of the reasonable needs of employees.
The standard hours of work will be those necessary for the
completion of routine work and this clause sets out the ordinary hours and
conditions attached to exceptions (other than declared emergencies).
General-
(i) Except as
otherwise provided, ordinary hours of work will be an average of 35 per week,
over a 4-week period, to be worked between 6am and 8pm.
(ii) An
appropriate level of service is to be maintained between the hours of 8.30am
and 4.30pm on weekdays consistent with the Guarantee of Service Policy.
(iii) No employee
will be able, or be required (other than in emergencies) to work more than 10
ordinary hours per shift (exclusive of travelling time).
(iv) The pattern of
hours will be agreed to between the employee and management of the area with
regard to the needs of the Service, employees and provision of services to our
customers.
(v) Hours of work
for positions and/or classifications will be determined under part A of this
clause.
(vi) The
implementation of this clause will be monitored closely.
Ordinary hours may be organised as follows:
(A) 24-hour
bandwidth-
A 24-hr bandwidth, inclusive of weekends and public
holidays, is necessary for those positions which involve senior managerial work
as part of their normal duties. A 24-hr
bandwidth provides the Service with the flexibility required to ensure that
essential urgent tasks are conducted in an efficient and timely manner.
(i) Ordinary
hours to be worked Monday to Sunday (inclusive).
(ii) Ordinary
hours to be worked at any time within a 24-hour bandwidth, with no fixed core
time.
(iii) Hours worked
by 24-hour bandwidth workers are those required to perform the work subject to:
(a) Not more than
10 hours are to be worked in one day;
(b) Hours usually
being worked from Monday to Friday;
(c) An employee
having 2 days off per week;
(d) An employee
not being directed to work more than 12 consecutive days;
(e) An employee
not being directed to work more than 2 consecutive weekends; and
(f) An employee
not being directed to work more than 75 days field work per annum.
(iv) Senior Managers
may be required to work an unspecified number of shifts on weekends, or on
public holidays or outside the standard bandwidth of 6am to 8pm. The salary for these positions recognises
this requirement, and no additional allowance is payable.
(v) If a Senior
Manager is directed to work for extended periods, then after completing the
work and with his/her supervisors’ approval, the Senior Manager may take an
agreed period of time off. Such time is
at the discretion of the Senior Manager’s supervisor.
13. Meal Breaks
(i) An unpaid
meal break of at least 30 minutes shall be taken no later than 5 hours after
the commencement of work.
(ii) In some
cases, due to the nature of the work, the meal break shall be for a set period
of time. In these cases, employees
shall be allowed at least 30 minutes.
(iii) A meal break
of 30 minutes shall be taken no later than two (2) hours after the commencement
of overtime.
(iv) If overtime
continues, an additional meal break of 30 minutes shall be taken after the completion
of each 5 hours worked.
(v) Meal breaks
taken whilst working overtime shall be paid at single time rates.
14. Rest Breaks
The overtime provisions in this clause are not payable to
Senior Managers unless working under incident conditions.
(i) There must be
a break of at least ten (10) consecutive hours between an employee’s ordinary
shifts.
(ii) Employees
required to continue work after their rostered finishing time, except where the
hours have been varied, are required to have a rest break of at least 10
consecutive hours before again commencing work, and be paid for any time lost.
(iii) Where an
employee is directed to commence work without having had their required rest
break, they will be paid overtime rates until they are released from duty,
(iv) Where an
officer is recalled to work after their finishing time, and works for a total
of less than 4 hours, they are entitled to a rest break of at least 7
consecutive hours before their next start time, and are entitled to be paid for
any time lost. If they are directed to
return to work and have not had their rest break, they are to be paid at
overtime time rates until they are released from duty.
(v) Where an
officer is recalled to work after their finishing time, and works for a total
of more than 4 hours, they are entitled to a 10-hour rest break and shall be
paid for any time lost. Where the
employee is directed to commence work without having had their required rest
break, they will be paid overtime rates until they are released from duty.
15. Temporary
Employees
(i) A temporary
employee is engaged consistent with section 38 of the Public Sector Management Act 1988.
(ii) Temporary
employees shall be entitled to uniforms (if the position requires such use),
Annual Entry Permits (for temporary employees employed for over twelve months),
training and staff development opportunities and the application of Public
Sector discipline procedures (for employees who have been employed for more
than twelve months).
(iii) In accordance
with the Superannuation Guarantee legislation, all employees of the Service are
entitled to 8% employer based contributions to First State Superannuation. Temporary employees should be advised of
this benefit at the time of induction.
(iv) Temporary
employees, employed for a period in excess of three months are entitled to the
accrual of leave. In the case of
temporary employees employed for less than three months, no leave accrual is
available, however payment of 4/48ths in lieu of recreation leave will be made
on termination.
16. Public Holidays
(i) Senior
Managers may be required to work ordinary hours on a public holiday.
(ii) Senior
Managers shall not receive any additional payment for ordinary hours worked on
a public holiday.
(iii) Senior
Managers shall not receive an additional day off or annual leave day for
ordinary time worked on a public holiday.
17. Public Service
Holiday
(i) All employees
shall be entitled to the Public Service Holiday in accordance with the
directives issued by the Premier each year.
(ii) Employees who
are unable to take the Public Service Holiday at the required time, will be
able to take a day off in lieu during the following leave year at a time
convenient to the Service.
18. Part-Time Working
Arrangements
(i) Part-time
work may be available to:
(a) full time and
temporary employees who wish to work part-time in an existing position;
(b) existing
full-time or part-time employees applying for promotion or transfer if they are
willing to work the approved hours of the position;
(c) staff
recruited and appointed or employed to work in a position where the approved
hours are less than full-time.
(ii) The decision
to work part-time is purely voluntary.
No person can be directed or placed under any duress to move from
full-time to part-time or vice versa.
(iii) Part-time
staff may elect to work full-time, or vice versa, at any time, subject to the
appropriate work being available for the classification and level, grade or
class of the position and it is convenient to the Service.
(iv) Return to
full-time employment before the expiry of the agreed period of part-time work
is subject to availability of work and adequate period of notice.
(v) Part-time
employees must not be expected to carry out all of the responsibilities of a
full-time job in part-time hours.
(vi) Part-time
staff with other fixed responsibilities at times when they are usually not at
work should not be subjected to pressure to be available for work outside their
usual part-time hours. Where the nature
of work is such that the circumstances are exceptional (eg a legal officer
required to appear in court) special arrangements to work outside of agreed
part-time hours need to be negotiated at the outset.
19. Job Sharing
(i) The Service
is committed to providing flexible work conditions through job sharing.
(ii) The Service
will support officers sharing a position provided that:
(a) the
arrangement is fair and equitable to the officers involved;
(b) the officers
involved in the job sharing arrangement agree to the arrangement
(c) the
arrangement can be on a permanent or temporary basis;
(d) the
arrangement is in the best interests of the smooth functioning of the Service,
ensuring that customer/client service is maintained.
(iii) The days each
officer shall work should be consecutive, and negotiated and agreed to by all
parties involved before commencement of employment
(iv) Some examples
are; 2 days one week and 3 days the next week; Thursday to Wednesday worked on
alternate weeks; Monday, Tuesday, alternate Wednesday and alternate Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday.
(v) The officers
involved in the job share arrangement should maintain close contact to ensure
continuity of work completed by them.
(vi) The supervisor
will be responsible to ensure both officers are treated equitably. This includes workload distribution, access
to information and access to training and development opportunities.
20. Annual Leave
(i) All Senior
Managers receive 4 weeks leave per year.
(ii) Annual leave
loading is no longer payable as a separate payment; it has been included in
salary.
(iii) All employees
under this Award are required to take the equivalent of a minimum of 10
continuous days of Annual Leave in any leave year (1 December to 30 November).
(iv) Annual leave
can be taken with a combination with Leave Without Pay, subject to Service
convenience.
(v) Employees
receiving 4 weeks annual leave may accrue a maximum of 40 days leave.
(vi) Employees may
apply to accrue leave in excess of the relevant maximum in accordance with the
provisions of the Public Sector
Management Act, 1988.
(vii) Employees
working in the Western Division of the State, as defined in the 2nd schedule of
the Crown Lands Consolidation Act
1913, shall accrue an extra 5 working days annual leave per year.
21. Concessional
Leave
(i) Senior
Manages agree not to partake of the concessional leave granted to Service
Employees from time to time by the Premier, such as the half-day at Christmas.
22. Sick Leave
(i) Sick leave
entitlements provided for in this award will be 15 per year in accordance with
sections 84-92 of the Public Sector Management (General) Regulation 1996.
(ii) Employees may
be granted special sick leave in addition to the annual or accumulative
entitlement and its application is reserved for occasions of long-term sickness
only.
(iii) Special Sick
Leave shall be granted subject to the employee being absent for a continuous
period of at least 2 months and that the employee has exhausted or will exhaust
all normal sick leave entitlements.
(iv) The grant of
Special Sick Leave will be considered on a case by case basis at the discretion
of the Director-General.
23. Contact With
Employees On Parental And Maternity Leave
(i) Senior
Managers agree to the conditions of the Service’s Parental/Maternity Leave
Contact Policy which aims to maintain contact with employees while they are on
leave, improve the retention rate of employees following return from leave and
to encourage continuity of career.
(ii) All
supervisors will meet with employees before they take parental or maternity
leave to jointly agree to mechanisms for keeping in contact during the period
of leave.
(iii) Ways of
keeping in contact may include:
(a) being mailed
topical information such as NAPAWI, training calendars;
(b) being advised
of any major changes which impact upon their job;
(c) regular phone
contact with a supervisor or colleague; and
(d) attendance at
relevant training courses, particularly close to the time that the employee is
due to return from leave.
(iv) It is
recognised that some employees may not wish to keep in contact with the Service
while they are on leave.
24. Family/Personal
Leave
(i) Employees
covered by this Award will be entitled to Family and Community Service Leave
which replaces the entitlement to Short Leave as detailed in the Personnel
Handbook.
(ii) Family and
Community Service leave is paid leave which may be granted by the
Director-General to an employee, subject to Service convenience.
(iii) Family and
Community Service leave may be granted in the following circumstances:
(a) to care for
family members;
(b) to arrange or
attend the funeral of a close family member;
(c) where weather
conditions threaten life or property or where an employee is prevented from
reporting for duty by conditions such as fire, flood or snow.
(iv) The maximum
amount of Family and Community Service leave on full pay, which may be granted,
is:
(a) during the
first 12 months of service - 3 working days; or
(b) after the
completion of 12 months service - 6 working days in any period of 2 years; or
(c) an amount
calculated by allowing 1 working day for each completed year of service after
the completion of 2 years continuous service and then deducting therefrom the
total amount of short or Family and Community Service leave previously granted
to the employee;
whichever is the greater amount.
(v) The
Director-General may approve the granting of Family and Community Service leave
above the entitlement for special circumstances (e.g., additional leave for
Aboriginal staff to attend funerals of close family members).
(A) Sick Leave to
Care for Sick Dependants
An employee may use sick leave to care for sick dependants
as per Clause 14 (x) of the Crown Employees (Public Service Conditions of
Employment 1997) Award and Chapter 6 Section 18 of the Personnel Handbook
December, 1999.
(B) Unpaid leave
for family purposes
(i) An employee
may elect, with the consent of their manager, to take unpaid leave for the
purposes of providing care and support to a class of person set out in
subclause A above who is ill.
(C) Make up time
(i) An employee
may elect, with the consent of their manager, to work "make up time",
under which the employee takes time off ordinary hours and works those hours at
a later time, during the spread of ordinary hours, provided in the Award at the
ordinary rate of pay.
25. Leave Without Pay
(i) Employees
covered by this Award are entitled to Leave Without Pay in accordance with the
Service’s Leave Without Pay policy.
(ii) All approvals
for Leave Without Pay are at the convenience and discretion of the
Service. The Director-General in
dealing with any applications shall have regard to the needs of the Service,
but as far as practicable shall deal with the application in accordance with
the wishes of the employee and in an equitable and consistent manner.
(iii) Leave Without
Pay (either on a full-time or part-time basis) will be considered on the
following grounds:
(a) study purposes
(b) pressing
necessities such as childcare and compassionate needs
(c) travel in
conjunction with other paid leave
(d) career breaks
(e) other
situations on a case-by-case basis provided the employee intends to resume duty
on the expiration of leave.
(iv) The maximum
amount of Leave Without Pay which will be granted before an employee will be
requested to relinquish their rights to a position will be of the equivalent of
12 months full time. An employee may be
asked to relinquish their position for a period of less than 12 months Leave
Without Pay; eg where it is difficult to attract employees to a temporary
position.
(v) Officers
seeking Leave Without Pay greater than the equivalent of 12 months full-time
will be made supernumerary upon resumption of duty; ie an officer who does not
occupy a permanent position but has not yet been declared excess.
(vi) In approving
Leave Without Pay, Senior Managers agree that the Service may consider
backfilling of positions as follows:-
(a) applications
for Leave Without Pay greater than 12 months (full time equivalent); the
position may be permanently filled,
(b) applications
for Leave Without Pay between 3 months and 12 months: (full time equivalent) if
the position is to be filled it will be by way of temporary appointment, except
where the incumbent has relinquished their rights to the position.
(c) Applications
for Leave Without Pay less than 3 months (full time equivalent): if the
position is to be filled it will be by way of Higher Duties or temporary
assistance.
(vii) Leave
Without Pay will not be available for temporary employees except under
exceptional circumstances.
(viii) Once approval
has been granted for Leave Without Pay extension will not be granted unless
exceptional or unforeseen circumstances can be demonstrated.
(ix) Prior approval
must be sought by an employee who wishes to resume duty at an earlier date.
(x) Applications
for Leave Without Pay are to be submitted on a leave form, which is to be
accompanied by a written application stating the reason(s) Leave Without Pay is
being sought. For part-time leave
without pay, a timetable is also to be included, stating the days, times and
amounts in hours the officer proposed to work each week.
(xi) The Supervisor
is to make a recommendation as to whether Leave Without Pay should/should not
be granted. The proposed timetable is
also to be endorsed. The recommendation
must also specify the method of filling the position.
(xii) The minimum
amount of notice which must be given for Leave Without Pay applications is two
(2) months. The only exception will be
where an employee required Leave Without Pay as specified in (iii)(b).
(xiii) Delegation to
approve applications will be as set out in the Human Resources Delegation
Manual.
(xiv) Applications
for Leave Without Pay must specify whether approval to seek private employment
is sought for the period of Leave Without Pay.
(xv) Employees on
Leave Without Pay may elect to have their salary averaged over the period of
Leave Without Pay; eg where an employee takes four weeks unpaid leave in
addition to their annual leave entitlement of four weeks.
26. Incident
Conditions
The following conditions apply in circumstances where an
incident is declared and approved by the Regional Manager or Divisional Manager
until such time as the declaration of the incident is lifted.
(A) Conditions-
(i) For the
purpose of calculating payment for incident duty, the salary rate shall be the
employee’s substantive salary or as prescribed in the Incident Responsibility
Rates section, whichever is the greater.
(ii) Call out to
attend an Incident will be paid at a minimum of three (3) hours overtime or by
mutual agreement time in lieu at overtime rates.
(iii) All travel to
and from an incident will be paid as if part of the Incident.
(iv) Start and
Finish Times:
(a) On a normal
rostered day on, start will be from normal workplace and finish will be on
return to normal workplace plus 30 minutes.
(b) On a Rostered
Day Off, start will be on leaving place of abode and finish will be on return
to place of abode plus 30 minutes.
(c) Where it is
not possible to return to place of abode or normal workplace, start will be on
leaving accommodation and finish will be on return to accommodation plus 30
minutes.
(d) Where an
employee is called to an Incident from their place of abode after the
completion of a normal shift, starting time will be at the time of the call,
finishing time will be on return to accommodation plus 30 minutes.
(v) A normal shift
is seven (7) hours, however employees may only be required to work a maximum of
twelve (12) hours on site. However, the
initial shift following the declaration of an Incident may extend to a maximum
of sixteen (16) hours on site. (The
Intention of this Award is to allow flexibility in exceptional circumstances;
eg new crews arriving late, unforeseeable worsening of the Incident).
(vi) A minimum
eight (8) hour break, not including travelling time, must be taken between
shifts, and where possible a ten (10) hour break is recommended.
(vii) After
completion of three (3) consecutive shifts on incident duties a twenty-four
hour break with payment at single time rates, shall be provided before
continuing with incident duties. The 24
hour break is to be extended to five 95 shifts for employees carrying out
support functions (ie Catering Teams, Administration Assistance).
(viii) It is the
responsibility of the Incident Controller or nominee to ensure that reasonable
shift and rest periods are adhered to.
(ix) On completion
of Basic Fire Modules all employees will be issued with a day pack and a
remote/night pack.
(x) If an employee
is away from their own work location for the purposes of attending an Incident,
and are not required to work and it is not possible to return to their home,
seven hours normal pay will be paid per day until they return home or their
usual place of work, whichever is the sooner.
(xi) Employees
required to work on their Allocated Day Off/Flexi Day/Rostered Day Off will
receive either:
(a) overtime for
the whole shift in addition to the normal pay for the day; or
(b) overtime for
the whole shift (minus the normal days pay) plus a day off in lieu of the
rostered day off to be taken at a mutually agreed time.
This must be marked clearly on time sheets or the assumption
will be that the rostered day off has been deferred.
(xii) Employees
directed to return from annual leave to attend an Incident will be compensated
for pre paid accommodation, return travel from their leave destination to home
at either First Class Rail Travel or economy air travel for themselves and any
dependents or at Official Business Rate if a private vehicle is used. Employees will be further compensated by
single hourly rate for all hours travelled.
Such employees will have the same option as employees called from an
Allocated Day Off or Flexi Day Off.
(B) Incident
Responsibility-
(i) Employees
working in incident positions shall be paid at the following rates:
Crew Member Class
3 Year 2, $31,171 p.a.
Crew Leader Class
5 Year 2, $35,021 p.a.
Sector Commander Class
6 Year 2, $38,878 p.a.
Divisional Commander Class
8 Year 2, $44,030 p.a.
Operations Officer Class
9 Year 2, $47,275 p.a.
Planning Officer Class
9 Year 2, $47,275 p.a.
Logistics Officer Class
12 Year 2, $58,546 p.a.
Incident Controller Class
13 Year 2, $64, 886 p.a.
These rates were set following job evaluation of these
positions
(ii) Employees
will be paid at their substantive hourly rate or at incident responsibility
rate, whichever is greater.
(iii) The overtime
barrier rate does not apply in incident situations, except for Senior Managers
who will be paid overtime at the appropriate incident rate or maximum Clerk
(A&C) Grade 12, whichever is the greater.
(iv) Employees must
be appointed to or exercise the responsibility of an incident responsibility
position for a minimum of three (3) hours to receive incident responsibility
rates. Those required to undertake
responsibility for less than three hours have the opportunity to develop
experience.
(v) When new
incident positions are created they will be evaluated to determine the
appropriate salary.
(C) Payment
Associated with Incidents-
(i) This replaces
the provisions of Clause 5, Salaries, in relation to overtime worked in respect
of incidents.
(ii) Payment will
be calculated as follows:
(a) Double time
for all hours from start of incident regardless of day, night, Saturday, Sunday
or public holidays.
(b) Normal day’s
pay or part thereof is deducted for both day and night shift.
(iii) No employee
shall have time deducted from pay for meal breaks unless they are actually
relieved of Incident Duties for the period of the break and clean up time; eg
30-45 minutes. Where meals are provided
to an employee on the ground and eaten in conjunction with incident duties, no deduction
will be made from pay.
(D) Family-
(i) The Service
will compensate employees for additional dependant care expenses (receipts must
be provided) relating to time worked during the incident. This must be arranged with the Incident
Controller as soon as practical and each case will be assessed by the Incident
Controller.
(ii) The Service
will notify a nominated family member or friend as to the whereabouts of
employees when extended shifts are required.
(E) Provision of
meals and accommodation whilst working on Incident-
(i) The Service
will generally provide meals including breakfast, lunch and dinner, and provide
supper for employees working night shift.
(ii) Employees
commencing at their normal workplace will provide their first meal where the
meal break falls within their normal seven-hour shift.
(iii) If no meal is
supplied, a payment of $15.00 per meal is made.
(iv) Wherever
possible employees will be allowed to return home or the Service will provide
accommodation in a hotel or motel.
(v) Where
returning home or to other accommodation is not possible or practical and the
employees are required to camp, they will be paid the Field Allowance set out
in Clause 7, Allowances, of this Award.
27. Working From Home
(i) Supervisors
may allow employees to work from home, however working from home is not to be a
routine arrangement.
(ii) Employees
covered by this Award may be given approval to work from home from time to
time.
(iii) Greater
access is to be given to employees working from home where:
(a) family members
are sick; or
(b) where a
project/report is requiring urgent completion and for productivity reasons
working from home will achieve this;
(c) for weekend
and night emergency incident management; and
(d) where the
nature of the work allows for it.
(iv) In some cases where
family members are sick, employees may work from home and combine this with
their entitlement to Family/Personal leave (where available and appropriate).
(v) When working
at home, employees must ensure that they are contactable by their office.
(vi) Employees are
covered by workers compensation where prior approval has been given to the
employee to work from home.
28. Employer
Sponsored Child Care
(i) The parties
to this award confirm a commitment to provide assistance to employees of the
Service so they may pursue employment in the knowledge that their children are
being well cared for in a safe and happy environment.
(ii) The Service
will sponsor accredited Vacation Care Programs. These programs are available to children of 5-12 years of age at
a minimal charge to parents. Where it
is not practical to set up a program, (maybe because of lack of numbers) the
Service will sponsor places on existing programs.
29. Dependant Care
(i) Where
dependants of the employee are sick and require care, the Service will continue
to support the officer in the following ways:
(a) Personal/Carer’s
leave may be taken by an employee to attend to any medical needs a dependant
may have; or
(b) Where
circumstances allow, an employee may negotiate with their supervisor to work at
home.
(ii) In
circumstances where an employee with a sick dependant is required to attend to
work that can not be completed from home (eg an urgent meeting) assistance will
be available to pay for additional costs associated with in home care for the
dependant, subject to the provision of receipts.
(iii) The Service
will meet the additional costs involved in before and after school care, where
an employee is required work beyond their regular house, resulting in
additional cost to the officer for child care, in an accredited child care
program, subject to the provision of receipts.
(iv) Each
application will be determined on its merits.
(v) The Service
will provide dependent care assistance so employees can attend residential
training and development activities.
(vi) The Service
will provide dependent care assistance to employees required to work during
emergency situations.
(vii) The Service
will compensate the employee for additional dependent care expenses relating to
hours working during an incident.
30. Families And
Field Work
(i) Employees
from time to time will be required to undertake either field work or to work
away from their normal headquarters.
(ii) On occasion
it may be necessary, or an employee may wish to take their family on a field
trip. This may be due to the duration
of the trip or child care or elder care responsibilities.
(iii) The Service
would generally find it acceptable for an employee to take family members on
field work provided that there is dependent care for small children or elderly
relatives.
(iv) The
independent care must not be undertaken by one of the following persons:
(a) an employee of
the Service;
(b) a contractor
of the Service who is engaged to undertake fieldwork during the particular expedition.
(v) Where an
employee wishes to be accompanied by their family on a field trip and extend
their stay on personal issues the employee will need to take some form of
approved leave which may consist of recreation or extended leave.
(vi) Employees who
wish to be accompanied by a family member on single day trips must obtain
approval from their supervisor prior to the trip for the purpose of insurance
coverage.
(vii) Employees who
wish to be accompanied by a family member on working trips of more than one day
must obtain approval from their supervisor.
31. Training And
Development
(i) The Service
is committed to the skill development of Senior Managers.
(ii) The training
and development of Senior Managers will be linked to the Performance Management
and Development System. Staff
Development Plans will be established through the system and be relevant to the
employee’s current position and their future career path.
Training and development options include: on the job
training; attendance at internal and external courses and conferences;
self-paced learning eg video training; project team work; mentor systems;
higher duties opportunities; job rotation and exchange programs.
(iii) In addition
to this, through the Management Development Strategy, the Service will provide
management development activities for Senior Managers, to ensure they posses
the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to achieve the corporate goals.
(iv) The Service
will implement Staff Development Policies and Procedures to ensure consistency
and equity is afforded to all employees.
(v) The Service’s
commitment to training and development include a commitment to provide adequate
support and resources: including full time trainers; external training
providers (where necessary); time and money to ensure the effectiveness of the
staff development program.
(vi) A minimum
amount equivalent to $2000 for each employee under this Award for each
financial year will be allocated to the training and development of Senior
Managers. This allocation will be used
to enhance the managerial skills, personal development of Senior Managers.
(vii) The
expenditure of the general training and development allocation will continue to
be reviewed by the Staff Development Consultative Committee and Regional Staff
Development Committees.
32. Study Assistance
(i) The Service
will support employees gaining additional skills through formal study.
(ii) Officers are
entitled to apply for study time and study leave in accordance with the
provision of the Personnel Handbook.
(iii) The Service
has established and will continue to support the NPWS Study Assistance
Program. The position offers up t one
full year to part year study support t one or more Service employees. Selection for the program is competitive.
(iv) The following
costs associated with courses will be reimbursed by the Service in accordance
with the following guidelines:
Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) Fee; or
Where HECS does not apply, compulsory fees (ie fees paid
upon enrolment - union, student’s council fees, TAFE administration charges,
registration fees etc).
(v) The proportion
of fees to be refunded will be as follows:
(a) 100% refunded
where the course/subject is directly relevant to the Service’s operations or
needs and is approved as such by the Director-General; or
(b) 50% refunded
where the course/subject is relevant to Public Service needs generally, but not
directly to the Service needs.
(vi) Refunds will
be paid for a maximum of seven annual occasions.
(vii) To be eligible
to receive a refund, an employee must:
(a) have been
employed in the Service prior to the final examination in the academic period
under consideration and also be in employment on the date reimbursement is
requested.
(b) produce
evidence of having successfully completed a full stage of an approved course
(or the subjects enrolled in at the start of a semester/year); and
(c) produce
receipts substantiating payments made for compulsory fees or HECS fee incurred.
33. Workplace
Accommodation
(i) The Service
will ensure that all staff are provided with a work environment that at least
meets minimum acceptable standards. All
workshops will meet the requirements of the Factories, Shops and Industries
Act.
(ii) While there
are no requirements for office workplaces, the Service agrees to provide
employees covered by this Award with reasonable conditions and space.
(iii) Smoking is
prohibited at all indoor NPWS workplaces and in Service vehicles.
34. Consultation And
Monitoring
(i) A Consultative
Committee representing both management and the Association will meet on a three
monthly basis to monitor the impact of this Award and resolve difficulties
which may arise with its implementation or operation and discuss future
improvements.
(ii) This
Consultative Committee will consider work place changes and productivity
improvement put forward by staff, unions or management.
(iii) Supervisors’
Responsibilities- It will be the responsibility of all Supervisors to hold
regular meetings with their staff.
Productivity improvements and management practices will be standard
agenda items of these meetings.
(iv) Productivity
Improvements- Service-wide policy and procedures will be put in place within 3
months of the commencement of this Award to enable all employees to have an
avenue by which they can suggest improvements in workplace practices and ways
of improving productivity. This will
include a system of rewards to employees who suggest improvements that are
successfully implemented.
(v) Employees
Responsibilities- It will be the employee’s responsibility to make time
available to attend workplace meetings responsibility to make time available to
attend workplace meetings unless they are on leave or working away from their
normal workplace.
(vi) Communication-
A quarterly newsletter will be circulated to each employee outlining any issues
relevant to the implementation of the Award and noting the resolutions of the
Consultative Committee.
35. Grievance And
Disputes Procedure
(i) When any
grievance or dispute arises at the workplace, the employee(s) must attempt to
resolve the grievance with the person concerned in the first instance.
(ii) If this is
not possible the employee refers the grievance/dispute to their immediate
supervisor. The supervisor is to be
given the opportunity to fully investigate the matter and must provide a
written response to the dispute or grievance.
The supervisor will advise the employee(s) concerned of the time by
which an answer will be provided.
Grievances should be resolved within forty eight (48) hours.
(iii) If the
grievance or dispute is not resolved the employee(s) and their immediate
supervisor, or where the matter is of such a nature that direct discussion
between the employee(s) and their supervisor would not be appropriate, the
employee(s) shall notify a more senior manage.
The more senior manager will attempt to resolve the matter, which may
include staff of Workforce Services Division.
(iv) If the matter
remains unresolved, the employee and/or their representative will take the
matter to a member of the Executive, who will attempt to solve the matter.
(v) Where the
grievance is unable to be resolved at Regional/Divisional level, or may result
in disciplinary action or a criminal matter is involved, the issue should be
referred by the contact officer, supervisor or manager to the Director,
Corporate Services.
(vi) If the
grievance or dispute remains unresolved the parties agree that it may be
referred to an appropriate independent arbitrator or mediator.
(vii) Nothing
contained in these procedures will preclude the parties from entering into
direct negotiations on any matter.
(viii) Each stage is
to be handled expeditiously.
(ix) Whilst these
procedures or negotiations are continuing no stoppage of work or any other form
of limitation of work shall be applied.
(x) These
procedures may be varied by a supervisor where it is considered that a safety
factor is involved.
36. Savings Of Rights
(i) 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 any loss or diminution in his or her
conditions of employment as a consequence of making this Award.
(ii) Should there
be a variation to the Crown Employees (Public Sector - Salaries January 2000)
Award or an Award replacing that Award, employees of the Service will maintain
the same salary relationship to the rest of the public service. Any such increase will be reflected in this
Award either by variation to it or by the making of a new Award.
37.
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
and age.
(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 the 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.
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 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."
38. Redundancy
Entitlements
Redundancy provision payments will be made in accordance
with the NSW Government ‘s Managing Displaced Employees Policy or its
replacement should a new policy be determined.
39. Area, Incidence
And Duration
(i) This Award
applies to all employees of the classification set out in Annexure 1 in the
employment of the National Parks and Wildlife Service of NSW.
(ii) This Award
will replace the following industrial instruments in so far as they apply to
employees:
• Crown
Employees (Public Sector - Salaries December, 1993) Award
• Crown
Employees (Transferred Officers Compensation) Award, 1989
• Crown
Employees (Travelling Compensation) Award
• Agreement No.
2354 of 1981, Transferred Officers Excess Rent Assistance
• Agreement No.
2457 of 1983, Technological Change
• Part 3 of the
Public Sector Management Act (General Regulation) 1988 Sections 32, 33, 35, 36,
37, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46 and 47 of Pat 5 of the Public Sector Management Act
(General Regulation) 1988
• Sections 48,
49, 50, 51,52, 53, 55, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 and 68 of
Part 6 of the Public Sector Management Act (General Regulation) 1988.
• Personnel
Handbook Sections 1,2 and 3.
(iii) The award is
made following a review under section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996
and rescinds and replaces the Senior Managers (National Parks and Wildlife
Service) Award published 20 August 1999 (310 IG 487) and all variations
thereof. This award will take effect
from 28 May 2001.
(iv) The award
remains in force until varied or rescinded, the period for which it was made
having already expired.
Annexure 1
Salaries On Review Of Award
|
Senior Manager Grade One
|
$74,039 - $81,699 (Bandwidth)
|
|
Senior Manager Grade Two
|
$82,976 - $90,635 (Bandwidth)
|
|
Senior Manager Grade Three
|
$91,911 - $100,848 (Bandwidth)
|
Annexure 2
SALARY AND BENEFIT PACKAGING OPTIONS
Motor Vehicles - only available to Senior Manager Grade
3. Private use of a Service motor
vehicle. However, 100% private usage
will not be available.
P. J.
SAMS D.P.
________________
Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.