Public Health System Nurses' and Midwives' (State) Award 2011

 

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES

 

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

 

(No. IRC 504 of 2013)

 

 

VARIATION

 

1.          Insert after clause 4, Hours of Work and Free Time of Employees Other Than Directors of Nursing and Area Managers, Nurse Education, of the award published 27 July 2012 (373 I.G. 312), the following new clause:

 

4A.  Multiple Assignments

 

(i)         Multiple assignments exist when an employee has more than one position under this Award within the New South Wales Health Service.  Each of these positions are referred to in this clause as “assignments”. 

 

(ii)        Where an employee has multiple assignments with different ordinary rates of pay, the employee shall be paid in relation to the ordinary hours worked in each separate assignment at the ordinary rate of pay applicable to that assignment.

 

(iii)       Where an employee has multiple assignments in the same classification, the employee will progress from one increment (year step) to the next increment after the employee has completed the full time equivalent of one year in the increment having regard to the work performed in all assignments.  Further, an employee must complete a minimum of one calendar year in an increment before progressing to the next increment.  Where an employee has multiple assignments in different classifications, the employee’s service in the higher classification will count for the purposes of incremental progression in the lower classification.  However, service in the lower classification shall not count for the purposes of incremental progression in the higher classification.

 

(iv)       With the exception of subclause (iii) above, this clause does not apply to employees who have multiple casual assignments only.  The Award provisions are to apply separately to each casual assignment.

 

Multiple Assignments Within a Single Public Health Organisation

 

(v)        The following provisions apply to employees with two or more assignments within a single Public Health Organisation:

 

(a)        The work performed in each of an employee’s assignments shall be aggregated for the purposes of determining all of the employee’s entitlements under this Award. 

 

Hours, Additional Days Off and Overtime

 

(b)        The combined total number of ordinary hours worked under an employee’s multiple assignments shall not exceed the hours of work as set out in Clause 4, Hours of Work and Free Time of Employees Other than Directors of Nursing and Area Managers, Nurse Education. 

 

(c)        Where the combined total number of ordinary hours worked under an employee’s multiple assignments is equivalent to those set out in subclause (i)(a) of Clause 4, Hours of Work and Free Time of Employees Other than Directors of Nursing and Area Managers, Nurse Education, for day workers or subclause (ii)(a) of Clause 4, Hours of Work and Free Time of Employees Other than Directors of Nursing and Area Managers, Nurse Education, for shift workers they will be considered as a full time employee for the purposes of the Award and:

 

1.         that employee is entitled to additional days off in accordance with subclause (iii) of Clause 4, Hours of Work and Free Time of Employees Other than Directors of Nursing and Area Managers, Nurse Education, and

 

2.         subclause (ii)(a) of Clause 25, Overtime, shall apply for the purposes of overtime.

 

(d)        Where the combined total number of ordinary hours worked under an employee’s multiple assignments is less than those set out in subclause (c) of this subclause:

 

1.         subclause (ii)(b) of Clause 25, Overtime, shall apply for the purposes of overtime, and

 

2.         all ordinary hours and additional hours paid at ordinary rates in each assignment shall be aggregated for the purposes of subclause (ii)(b) of Clause 25, Overtime, and treated as if it were worked under a single assignment. 

 

(e)        Where an employee is employed in an assignment as a Nurse/Midwife Manager classified at Grade 4 or above and subclauses (xi)(a)-(c) of Clause 25, Overtime, do not apply;

 

1.         subclauses (c)(2) and (d)(1) of this subclause shall not apply to time worked in that assignment provided that,

 

2.         ordinary hours worked in that assignment shall be counted for the purposes of determining whether the employee has worked beyond 38 hours in any week. 

 

(f)         The rostering of additional days off will be co-ordinated between the employee’s line managers to ensure that the additional days off are proportionately rostered across the employee’s assignments.  Where an employee has multiple assignments with different ordinary rates of pay, the additional day off will be paid at the rate of pay relevant to the assignment in which it is rostered.

 

(g)        Where an employee has multiple assignments with different ordinary rates of pay, the rate of pay used to determine the additional hours or overtime payable shall be the rate applicable to the assignment which generated the additional hours or overtime.

 

(h)        Where overtime is compensated by way of time off in lieu as set out in subclause (iv) of Clause 25, Overtime, that time off in lieu must be taken in the assignment which generated the overtime.

 

(i)         Employees who are in full time or part time assignments cannot be engaged on a second or further assignment as a casual employee under the Award.  Any additional hours worked by such employees are to be remunerated in accordance with subclauses (c) or (d) of this subclause. 

 

Temporary Employees

 

(j)         Where an employee has an assignment to which Part III – Temporary Employees of Clause 29, Part-Time, Casual and Temporary Employees, applies, the allowance referred to at subclause (ii) of Part III – Temporary Employees of Clause 29, Part-Time, Casual and Temporary Employees, shall only apply to hours worked in that assignment.  While ever the allowance is paid, the provisions of subclauses (m) and (n) of this subclause shall not apply to the temporary assignment provided that subclause (iii) of Part III – Temporary Employees, of Clause 29, Part-Time , Casual and Temporary Employees, applies to a temporary assignment in relation to annual leave.

 

Employees engaged as part-time employees as at 30 June 1986

 

(k)        Where an employee:

 

1.         has elected to receive the benefits set out in subclauses (ii)-(iv) of Part IV – Savings Provisions of Clause 29, Casual and Temporary Employees, in relation to an assignment, and

 

2.         after the date this clause was inserted into the Award the employee commences in a second or further permanent part time assignment and their combined total number of ordinary hours worked in all assignments is less than those set out in subclause (c) of this subclause;

 

subclauses (i)-(iv) of Part IV - Savings Provisions of Clause 29, Casual and Temporary Employees, shall cease to apply and the employee will be a permanent part time employee for the purposes of the Award.

 

(l)         Where an employee:

 

1.         has elected to receive the benefits set out in subclauses (ii)-(iv) of Part IV – Savings Provisions of Clause 29, Casual and Temporary Employees, in relation to an assignment, and

 

2.         his/her combined total number of ordinary hours worked in all assignments is equal to or more than those set out in subclause (c) of this subclause,

 

subclauses (i)-(iv) of Part IV – Savings Provisions of Clause 29, Casual and Temporary Employees, shall not apply to any of their assignments. 

 

Leave

 

(m)       All ordinary hours worked by an employee in multiple assignments shall count towards determining the employee’s leave entitlements. 

 

(n)        Employees with multiple assignments shall be entitled to take all forms of leave in any of their assignments.  That is, leave accrued by an employee through work performed in one assignment, can be taken by that employee in their other assignment/s.  Service in all assignments will be recognised for the purposes of subclause (i)(a) of Clause 37, Sick Leave. 

 

(o)        Where an employee has multiple assignments with different ordinary rates of pay, the employee shall be paid for leave taken at the rate of pay relevant to the assignment in which the leave was taken or rostered.   

 

(p)        Where an employee’s combined total number of ordinary hours worked in their multiple assignments is equivalent to those set out in subclause (c) of this subclause, and that employee is required to work their ordinary hours on a seven day basis, they shall be entitled to six weeks annual leave in accordance with subclause (i)(a) of Clause 30, Annual Leave. 

 

(q)        Service in all assignments will be recognised for the purposes of entitlements under Clause 34, Maternity, Adoption and Parental Leave.

 

(r)         Where an employee’s assignment is terminated but the employee remains employed under another full time or part time assignment, that employee shall not be paid out the monetary value of the annual leave or long service leave accrued in the terminated assignment.

 

Disclosures, Notifications and Approvals

 

(s)        Employees must, at the time they apply for any second or further assignment, disclose in writing that they are already employed by NSW Health and provide details of that assignment including:

 

1.         the position/s currently held

 

2.         the facility in which the existing position/s are worked

 

3.         the classification/s under which they are engaged in each position

 

4.         the number of ordinary hours worked in each position

 

5.         any regular additional hours or overtime that is worked in each position

 

6.         whether the position/s is worked according to a set roster and if so, the details of that roster arrangement; and

 

(t)         Prior to accepting an offer for a second or further assignment, employees must provide to their current manager details of that proposed assignment including:

 

1.         the position they have applied for

 

2.         the facility in which the proposed new assignment is to be worked

 

3.         the classification under which they would be engaged in the new assignment

 

4.         the number of ordinary hours to be worked in the proposed assignment

 

5.         whether the position is to be worked according to a set roster and if so, the details of that roster arrangement.

 

(u)        A Public Health Organisation may elect on reasonable grounds to withhold the approval of a second or further assignment to employees who are already employed in another assignment.

 

(v)        Before accepting any change in roster or undertaking additional hours or overtime that will impact on another assignment, employees who hold multiple assignments must notify their  current manager of the details of their next shift in either assignment.  Managers must not change rosters or require employees to work additional hours or overtime where these will impact on the employee’s roster in the other assignment (for example by generating overtime) without first consulting the manager of the other assignment/s.  (By way of example, if an employee is requested by Manager 1 in Assignment 1 to undertake additional hours in Assignment 1 that may impact on the roster in Assignment 2, the employee must notify Manager 1 of the impact.  Manager 1 must not change rosters/hours that impact on Assignment 2 without first consulting Manager 2.)

 

Multiple Assignments Across Different Public Health Organisations

 

(vi)       Assignments in different Public Health Organisations will be regarded as entirely separate for all purposes under the Award, including the accrual and taking of leave. The only exceptions are the provisions of subclause (iii) of this clause (regarding incremental progression) and:

 

(a)        At the time an employee commences an assignment in another Public Health Organisation the employee’s accrued leave will be apportioned across their assignments (for example, a 0.6 full time equivalent Registered Nurse who commences another 0.4 full time equivalent assignment in another Public Health Organisation will have 60% of their leave accruals allocated to the former assignment and 40% to the latter assignment) unless prior to commencing the new assignment the employee elects that this apportioning does not occur.  After this apportioning, leave accrues separately in each assignment, based on the hours worked in each assignment.  The employer will notify the employee of their right to make this election prior to the apportioning taking place.

 

(b)       Employees who have multiple assignments across different Public Health Organisations at the time this clause was inserted into this award may elect to apportion their accrued leave across their assignments.

 

(c)        Service in all assignments will be aggregated for the purposes of calculating long service leave entitlements under the Award.

 

(d)       Service in all assignments will be recognised for the purposes of entitlements under Clause 34, Maternity, Adoption and Parental Leave.

 

(e)        Where an employee terminates an assignment, any leave credits that are held against that assignment will be transferred to the remaining assignment/s.

 

(f)        If prior to the introduction of this clause and/or the StaffLink payroll system an employee received additional days off and/or overtime in accordance with subclause (ii) of Clause 25, Overtime, that employee shall continue to receive those benefits until one of the assignments is terminated.

 

(g)       Where an employee has three or more assignments, one or more of which are in different Public Health Organisations, subclause (v) of this clause shall apply to those assignments which are within a single Public Health Organisation.

 

Changes to the composition of Public Health Organisations

 

(vii)      The employer and the Association agree to review this clause in the event that the boundaries of any Public Health Organisation change.

 

(viii)     Where any change to the boundaries of any Public Health Organisation causes an employee’s multiple assignments to which subclause (v) of this clause previously applied to then be subject to subclause (vi) of this clause, subclause (v) of this clause shall continue to apply (to the exclusion of subclause (vi) of this clause) to those assignments until one of them is terminated.

 

2.          This variation shall take effect from 18 June 2013.

 

 

 

C.G. STAFF J

 

 

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Printed by the authority of the Industrial Registrar.