AN120505 – Social and Community Services Employees (State) Award
28.1 Where agreed between the employer and a full-time or part-time employee, an employer may offer salary packaging in respect of salary. Neither the employer nor the employee may be compelled to enter into a salary packaging agreement.
28.2 Salary packaging shall mean that an employee will have part of their salary packaged into a fringe benefit which does not constitute a direct payment to the employee but is payable to a bona fide third party.
28.3 The terms and conditions of such a package shall not, when viewed objectively, be less favourable than the entitlements otherwise available under the award and shall be subject to the following provisions:
(a) the employer shall ensure that the structure of any agreed remuneration package complies with taxation and other relevant legislation;
(b) where there is an agreement to salary package, the agreement shall be in writing and made available to the employee;
(c) the employee shall have access to details of the payments and transactions made on their behalf. Where such details are maintained electronically, the employee shall be provided with a printout of the relevant information;
(d) the employer has the right to vary or withdraw from a salary packaging agreement and/or withdraw from offering salary packaging in the event of amendments to legislation that are detrimental to, or increase the costs of, salary packaging arrangements;
(e) in the event that the employer withdraws from a salary packaging agreement, the individual employee’s salary will revert to that specified in Table 1, Rates of Pay of this Award;
(f) notwithstanding any of the above arrangements, the employer or employee may cancel any salary packaging agreements by the giving of one month’s notice of cancellation to the other party;
(g) the calculation of entitlements concerning occupational superannuation and annual leave loading on annual leave pursuant to Clause 38.2 - Annual Leave, will be based on the value of the employee's total salary as outlined in Table 1, Rates of Pay of this Award;
(h) unless there is agreement between the employer and the employee to the contrary, all salary packaging arrangements shall cease during any period of leave without pay, including periods of unpaid sick leave.
