More information on the Horticulture Award and changes to overtime for casuals

Ordinary hours for casuals

The ordinary hours of work for casual employees other than shiftworkers will not exceed 304 ordinary hours over an eight week period provided that:

a) Ordinary hours of work for casual employees can be worked at any time;

b) Each ordinary hour of work worked by a casual employee on any day of the week (excluding public holidays) between 5.00 am and 8.30 pm will be paid at the employee’s minimum hourly wage for his or her classification plus a casual loading of 25%;

c) In a State or Territory that does not observe daylight saving time, by agreement between the employer and a majority of affected casual employees, the 5.00 am to 8.30 pm daily spread of hours can be moved forward one hour (4.00 am to 7.30 pm) for the period of daylight saving time in other States and Territories;

d) Each ordinary hour worked by a casual employee on any day of the week (excluding public holidays) between 8.31 pm and 4.59 am (or 7.31 pm and 3.59 am in accordance with clause 22.2(c)) will attract a loading of 15% of the employee’s minimum hourly wage for his or her classification (in addition to the casual loading of 25%);

e) The maximum number of ordinary hours which a casual employee may work per engagement, or on any day, is 12 ordinary hours;

f) All time worked in excess of 12 hours per engagement, 12 hours in a single day or 304 ordinary hours over an eight week period will be deemed overtime.

Payment for overtime – casual employees

Each hour worked in excess of 12 hours per engagement, 12 hours in a single day or 304 ordinary hours over an eight week period will be paid at a rate of 175% of the employee’s minimum hourly wage for his or her classification (inclusive of the casual loading).

Public holiday rates of pay – casual employees
All hours worked by a casual employee on a public holiday (both ordinary hours and any overtime) will be paid at a rate of 225% of the employee’s minimum hourly wage for his or her classification (inclusive of the casual loading).

NFF Horticulture Council’s request for a transitional period

Please note that FWC made the following comments in response to the NFF’s suggestion of a transitional period for the above changes:

[39] With regard to the NFF’s suggestion that the determination provide for a transitional period for implementation of the likelihood of the introduction of over for casual employees, we note that the industry has been on notice of the intention to introduce over payments for employees covered by the Horticulture Award since mid-2017. This was first stated in our principal decision which was issued on 5 July 2017, was reiterated in our August 2018 decision, and was reflected in the draft determination issued on 30 August 2018. For this reason we consider that a transitional period is unnecessary. The determination to give effect to our decision will operate from the first full pay period on or after 15 April 2019.

The FWO is currently updating PACT to align with the final determination issued by the Fair Work Commission (FWC) regarding the introduction of a night loading for casuals. This type of work is performed on a regular basis in PACT, and made based on the FWO’s interpretation of the final determination

In PACT, the night loading is referenced as ‘Outside span of hours.’ The night loading will be calculated cumulatively. This means that the night loading will be calculated on the hourly rate, and added to the hourly rate inclusive of the casual loading.

For example, the hourly rate for a casual Level 1 employee will be calculated as follows:

(15% (night loading) x $18.93 (minimum hourly rate)) + (25% (casual loading) x $18.93 (minimum hourly rate) + $18.93 (minimum hourly rate)  = $2.84 + $4.73 + $18.93 = $26.50

Customers can access the calculation steps from the pay summary screen for each calculated rate.

To access the new night loading (once it has been updated) in advance of the effective date, customers will need to ensure they update the effective date to 15 April 2019 in the pay calculator.

Other changes in PACT will include:

• Text to assist customers to identify when the new entitlements may apply to them.
• New eligibility questions for customers to determine which overtime for casual employees rate (i.e. either outside the time span worked between Monday and Sunday, or overtime worked between Monday and Sunday) applies to their circumstances.
• the new outside the span of hours penalty – 15%
• the new overtime – Monday to Sunday penalty – 50%