PARLIAMENTARY REPORTING
STAFF (SALARIES) AWARD
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
COMMISSION OF NEW SOUTH WALES
Review of Award pursuant to Section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act 1996.
(No. IRC 1778 of 2004)
Before The Honourable Mr
Deputy President Harrison
|
22 June 2004
|
REVIEWED AWARD
1. Arrangement
PART A
Clause No. Subject Matter
1. Arrangement
2. Area,
Incidence and Duration
3. Classifications
and Salaries
4. All
Incidence of Employment Allowance
5. Hours of Work
and Overtime
6. Leave
Entitlements
7. Family
and Community Service Leave, Personal/Carer’s Leave and Flexible Use of other
Leave Entitlements.
8. Saving of
Rights
9. No Extra
Claims
10. Anti
Discrimination
11. Dispute
Avoidance and Settling Procedures
APPENDIX A
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Table 1 - Salaries
Table 2 - All
Incidence of Employment Allowance
2. Area, Incidence
and Duration
(a) This award
applies to all officers of the Parliamentary Reporting Services Department
employed in classifications determined in this award under clause 3
Classifications and Salaries.
(b) This award is
made following a review under section 19 of the Industrial Relations Act
1996 and rescinds and replaces the Parliamentary Reporting Staff (Salaries
2001) Award published 25 May 2001 (324 IG 1228) and all variations thereof,
save for subclause (b) of clause 2, Area, Incidence and Duration of the said
award.
(c) The changes
made to the award 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 22 June 2004
3. Classification and
Salaries
(a) The
classification of positions covered by this award are specified in Table 1 -
Salaries of Part B Monetary Rates.
(b) The minimum
salary for employees shall be as set out in Table 1 - Salaries, of Part B,
Monetary Rates.
(c) The payment of
increments under the scale of salaries specified in Table 1 shall be subject to
satisfactory performance and the approval of the Editor of Debates.
4. All Incidence of
Employment Allowance
In addition to the salary rates prescribed in clause 3Classifications
and salaries, employees shall be paid an all incidence of employment allowance
as set out in Table 2 - All Incidence of Employment Allowance of Part B
Monetary Rates. This allowance is in
respect of all incidents of employment in recognition of the special features
of Hansard work notably the long hours worked in sitting periods, the level of
skills required to be exercised under sometimes extreme difficulties and the
stress and pressure placed on the Hansard staff during sitting periods through
the requirements of the Parliament. The
allowance is to be treated as salary for all purposes. Hansard staff shall, in non-sitting periods,
be required to attend for duty each day unless on approved leave or deemed not
required at the discretion of the Editor of Debates.
5. Hours of Work
(a) The working
hours of staff and the manner of their recording, shall be as determined from
time to time by the Editor of Debates.
(b) Reporting
staff shall, in non-sitting periods, be required to attend for duty each day
unless on approved leave or deemed not required at the discretion of the Editor
of Debates.
(c) The Editor of
Debates may require a staff member to perform extended hours of duty associated
with the sittings of the Houses of Parliament and their Committees, but only if
it is reasonable for the staff member to be required to do so. In determining
what is reasonable, the staff member’s prior commitments outside the workplace,
particularly the staff member’s family responsibilities, community obligations
or study arrangements shall be taken into account. Consideration shall be given
also to the urgency of the work required to be performed during extended
periods of work, the impact on the operational commitments of the organisation
and the effect on client services.
(d) The Editor of
Debates shall ensure that all staff members employed in the department are
informed of the hours of duty required to be worked and of their rights and
responsibilities in respect of such hours of duty.
6. Leave Entitlements
(a) Annual Leave -
Reporting staff shall accrue 30 days annual leave each 12 months of service.
(b) All leave
entitlements for Reporting Staff will be administered in accordance with the
policies of the New South Wales Parliament.
(c) All Reporting
Staff working under job-share arrangements are eligible to the leave
entitlements which will accrue on a pro-rata basis.
(d) An amount of
leave may be taken, on or pro-rata basis, within the first 12 months of service
and during each 12 months of service thereafter, where a sufficient amount of
leave has been accrued up to the date upon which the leave is to be taken.
7. Family and
Community Service Leave, Personal/Carer’s Leave and Flexible Use of Other Leave
Entitlements
7.1 Definitions
The definition of "family" and
"relative" for these purposes is the same as that provided in the
Standard Clause of the State Personal/Carer's Leave Case (30 August 1996). The person who needs the employee's care and
support is referred to as the "person concerned" and is:
(a) a spouse of
the employee; or
(b) a de facto
spouse, who, in relation to a person, is a person of the opposite sex to the
first mentioned person who lives with the first mentioned person as the husband
or wife of that person on a bona fide domestic basis although not legally
married to that person; or
(c) a child or an
adult child (including an adopted child, a step child, a foster child or an ex
nuptial child), parent (including a foster parent and legal guardian),
grandparent, grandchild or sibling of the employee or spouse or de facto spouse
of the employee; or
(d) a same sex
partner who lives with the employee as the de facto partner of that employee on
a bona fide domestic basis; or
(e) a relative of
the employee who is a member of the same household, where for the purposes of
this paragraph:
1. 'relative'
means a person related to blood, marriage or affinity;
2. 'affinity'
means a relationship that one spouse because of marriage has to blood relatives
of the other; and
3. 'household'
means a family group living in the same domestic dwelling.
7.2 Family and
Community Service Leave - general
(a) The Editor of
Debates may grant family and community service leave to an employee:
(1) for reasons
related to the family responsibilities of the employee, or
(2) for reasons
related to the performance of community service by the employee, or
(3) in a case of
pressing necessity.
(b) Family and
Community Service Leave replaces Short Leave.
(c) An employee is
not to be granted family and community service leave for attendance at court to
answer a criminal charge, unless the Editor of Debates approves the grant of leave in the
particular case.
7.3 Family and
Community Service Leave - entitlement.
(a) The maximum
amount of family and community service leave on full pay that may be granted to
an employee is:
(1) 2.5 working
days during the first year of service and 5 working days in any period of 2
years after the first year of service, or
(2) 1 working day
for each year of service after 2 years' continuous service, minus any period of
family and community service leave already taken by the employee,
whichever is the greater period.
(b) Family and
Community Service Leave is available to part-time employees on a pro rata
basis, based on the number of hours worked.
(c) Where family
and community service leave has been exhausted, additional paid family and
community service leave of up to 2 days may be granted on a discreet, 'per
occasion' basis to an employee on the death of a person as defined in Clause
7.1 Definitions above.
7.4 Use of Sick
Leave to Care for a Sick Dependant - general
When family and community service leave, as outlined in
subclause 7.3 above, is exhausted, the sick leave provisions under subclause
7.5 may be used by an employee to care for a sick dependant.
7.5 Use of sick
leave to care for a sick dependant - entitlement
(a) The
entitlement to use sick leave in accordance with this clause is subject to:
(i) the employee being
responsible for the care and support of the person concerned, and
(ii) the person
concerned being as defined in subclause 7.1 Definitions of this clause.
(b) An employee
with responsibilities in relation to a person who needs their care and support
shall be entitled to use sick leave available from that year's annual sick
leave entitlement minus any sick leave taken from that year's entitlement to
provide care and support for such persons when they are ill.
(c) Sick leave
accumulates from year to year. In
addition to the current year's grant of sick leave available under 7.5 (b)
above, sick leave accrued from the previous 3 years may also be accessed by an
employee with responsibilities in relation to a person who needs their care and
support.
(d) The Editor of
Debates may, in special circumstances, make a grant of additional sick
leave. This grant can only be taken
from sick leave accrued prior to the period referred to in subclause 7.5(c)
above.
(e) The employee
shall, if required, establish either by production of a medical certificate or
statutory declaration, the illness of the person concerned and that the illness
is such to require care by another person.
(f) The employee
has the right to choose the method by which the ground for leave is established,
that is, by production of either a medical certificate or statutory
declaration.
(g) The employee
is not required to state the exact nature of the relevant illness on either a
medical certificate or statutory declaration.
(h) The employee
shall, wherever practicable, give the employer notice prior to the absence of
the intention to take leave, the name of the person requiring care and that
person's relationship to the employee, the reasons for taking such leave and
the estimated length of absence. If it
is not practicable for the employee to give prior notice of absence, the
employee shall notify the employer by telephone of such absence at the first
opportunity on the day of absence.
(i) In normal
circumstances, the employee must not take leave under this subclause where
another person has taken leave to care for the same person.
7.6 Time Off in
Lieu of Payment for Overtime
There is no provision for time off in lieu of overtime as
clause 4, All incidence of Employment Allowance replaces payment for overtime
with an annual allowance prescribed in this award.
7.7 Use of Make-up
Time
(a) An employee
may elect, with the consent of the employer, to work "make-up
time". "Make-up time" is
worked when the employee takes time off during ordinary hours for family or
community service responsibilities, and works those hours at a later time,
during the spread of ordinary hours, at the ordinary rate of pay.
(b) An employee on
shift work may elect, with the consent of the employer, to work "make-up
time" (under which the employee takes time off during ordinary hours for
family or community service responsibilities and works those hours at a later
time) at the shift work rate which would have been applicable to the hours
taken off.
7.8 Use of Other
Leave Entitlements
The Editor of Debates may grant an employee other leave
entitlements for reasons related to family responsibilities, or community
service by, the employee. An employee
may elect, with the consent of the employer, to take:
(a) recreation
leave;
(b) extended
leave; and
(c) leave without
pay.
7.9 Grievance and
Dispute Handling Process
In the event of any grievance or dispute arising in
connection with any part of the provisions of this determination, such a
grievance or dispute shall be processed in accordance with the grievance and
dispute handling provisions in clause 11 of this award.
8. Saving of Rights
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 loss or diminution in his or her conditions of
employment as a consequence of the making of this award.
9. No Extra Claims
(a) The pay rates provided
in this award arise from the agreement of the parties as contained in the
Memorandum of Understanding between the Presiding Officers of the Parliament of
New South Wales and the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance entered into on
12 March 2001.
(b) The pay rates
provided by this Award are premised on the basis that there shall be no new
salaries or conditions claims arising from negotiations of productivity and
efficiency improvements covered by the Agreement referred to in subclause (a)
of this Clause.
10. 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, age and carer’s
responsibilities.
(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 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.
(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
11. Dispute Avoidance
and Settling Procedures
While the steps in the procedure are being followed, normal
working arrangements are to continue.
However, if because of the nature of a grievance or dispute it is not possible
to maintain normal working arrangements while the procedure is being followed,
the Clerks may authorise alternative working arrangements.
Step 1: The
employee(s) should advise their supervisor as to the nature of the grievance or
dispute, request a meeting to discuss it and state the remedy sought. Where possible, the grievance or dispute
should be given to the supervisor in writing.
The supervisor and employee(s) should meet within three
working days of the grievance or dispute being lodged, in an attempt to resolve
the matter.
If the grievance or dispute is not resolved, proceed to
Step 2.
Step 2: A
meeting should be held between the employee(s) and, at their request, a union
workplace delegate and the Editor of Debates. This meeting should be held
within five working days of the conclusion of Step 1.
If the grievance or dispute in not resolved, proceed to
step 3.
Step 3: A
meeting should be held between the employee(s) and, at their request, a union
workplace delegate and paid union official, and the Editor of Debates and one
or both Clerks and/or their representatives.
The meeting should be held within five working days of the completion of
Step 2.
If the grievance is not resolved at this stage, the
Clerks will provide a written response to the employee(s) who lodged the
grievance or dispute. The response will
give reasons why any proposed remedy has not been agreed to or implemented.
If the grievance or dispute is not resolved, proceed to
Step 4.
Step 4: If the
parties agree, the grievance or dispute may be referred to an independent
mediator or arbitrator. At this stage,
both parties have the right to refer the matter to the Industrial Relations
Commission of New South Wales.
PART B
MONETARY RATES
Rates
effective from the first pay period following the date of effect
Table
1 - Salaries
Classification
|
Date of Effect
|
|
1/7/2003
|
|
$
|
Reporter
|
|
1st year of service
|
58,796
|
2nd year of service
|
61,159
|
3rd year of service
|
64,376
|
4th year of service
|
67,040
|
5th year of service
|
68,968
|
|
|
Senior Reporter
|
71,015
|
|
|
Sub Editor
|
76,502
|
|
|
Senior Sub Editor
|
81,060
|
|
|
Deputy Editor
|
86,050
|
Table 2 - All
Incidence of Employment Allowance
|
|
$
|
All classifications
|
11,856
|
R. W. HARRISON D.P.
____________________
Printed by
the authority of the Industrial Registrar.