News & Views
Award Flexibility during the COVID Pandemic
Further Changes to the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020
On 30 June 2020, the Fair Work Commission made a determination to extend the period of operation of Schedule I until 30 September 2020. Further, the Fair Work Commission made a determination to amend Schedule I as follows:
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It inserted a provision that any directions given under Schedule I must be in writing and
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would not apply if the direction was unreasonable in the circumstances; and
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would not be valid unless it advised the employee that the employer consented to a dispute about the direction, request or agreement being settled by the Fair Work Commission.
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It removed the clauses with respect to:
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operational flexibility;
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part-time employees working from home;
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casual employees working from home; and
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close down.
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It amended the ordinary hours of work for an employee working from home from 6am to 11pm Monday to Friday to 6am to 10pm Monday to Friday.
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It included clauses to allow employees, who had their hours of work reduced in accordance with Schedule I prior to 1 July 2020, request a further vote to confirm the ongoing reduction in hours. The vote is to be held within 7 days of any request being made. If the vote is not approved or is not held within 7 days the reduction will cease to be effective.
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It replaced the annual leave clause and the new annual clause provided as follows:
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an employer can request an employee to take annual leave, subject to considering the employee’s personal situation;
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the request cannot result in an employee having less than two weeks of annual leave remaining; and
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the employee cannot unreasonably refuse the request to take annual leave;
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the employer must give 72 hours’ notice to the employee;
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the employer and employee may agree to take up to twice as much annual leave at a proportionally reduced rate including for any close-down;
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the annual leave must commence before 30 September 2020, but can end after this date;
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the employer can only request that an employee take annual leave if the request is made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government initiative to slow the transmission or to assist the employer minimise the loss of employment; and
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the employer and the employee can still come to an agreement about taking annual leave at any time.
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Disclaimer: This summary is a guide only and is not legal advice. For more information on legislative or contractual obligations, please contact NECA Legal on 1300 361 099 or email law.clerk@neca.asn.au