AN120684 – Plumbers and Gasfitters (State) Consolidated Award
Wherever it may be found necessary in the erection, alteration, renovation or demolition of buildings to work wholly by night; or in two shifts, day and night, the following terms and conditions shall apply:
(i) No employee who is employed during the ordinary hours shall be employed on night shift except on overtime rates or vice versa.
(ii) Reasonable time shall be allowed for a meal or meals during such shift.
(iii) In cases where night shifts are worked and the employment continues for more than one week, employees shall work five shifts per week of eight hours.
Employees on shift work shall accrue 0.4 of one hour for each eight hour shift worked to allow one complete shift to be taken off as a paid shift for every 20 shift cycle. This 20th shift shall be paid for at the appropriate shift rate as prescribed by this clause and the appropriate allowance as set out in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of subclause (1) of clause 14, Compensation for Travel Patterns, Mobility Requirements of Employees and the Nature of Employment in the Construction Work Covered by this Award.
Paid leave taken during any cycle of four weeks and public holidays as prescribed by clause 23, Public Holidays, shall be regarded as shifts worked for accrual purposes.
Except as provided above employees not working a complete four week cycle shall be paid accrued pro rata entitlements for each shift worked on the programmed shift off or, in the case of termination of employment, on termination.
The employer and employees shall agree in writing upon arrangements for rostered paid days off during the 20 day cycle or for accumulation of accrued days to be taken at or before the end of the particular contract; provided that such accumulation shall be limited to no more than five such accrued days before they are taken as paid days off, and when taken the days shall be regarded as days worked for accrual purposes in the particular 20 shift cycle.
Once such days have been rostered they shall be taken as paid days off; provided that where an employer, for emergency reasons requires an employee to work on his rostered day off, he/she shall be paid, in addition to his accrued entitlement, the penalty rates prescribe d in subclause (vii) of this clause.
(iv) An employee employed for less than five continuous shifts in any working week shall be paid in accordance with clauses 20, Overtime, and 22, Saturday and Sunday, provided that, in cases where the employee has been employed on night shift for more than one week continuously then in such cases if the job finished during the currency of a week's work the employer shall be at liberty to terminate the engagement and shall pay to such employee the rate fixed for night shift work for the time actually worked, provided also that in cases where less than a full week is worked, due to the action of the employee, then in such cases the rate payable for the actual time worked shall be ordinary night shift rates.
(v) The rate of pay for night shift shall be time and a quarter.
(vi) The starting and finishing hours for night shift work shall be agreed upon mutually between the employer and his/her employees, provided that the starting time for ordinary night shift hours shall not be before 3 p.m.
(vii) Overtime - All time worked on Sundays and the holidays mentioned in the said clauses 22 and 23 shall be paid for at the rate of double time shift rates. All time worked outside the ordinary night shift hours shall be paid for at the rate of time and a half for the first two hours and double time thereafter based upon night shift rates. Where a period of overtime is two hours or more an employee shall be allowed a 20 minutes' meal break which shall be paid for at ordinary rates.
(viii) Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this clause employees of contractors and such subcontractors as may be engaged by them on the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Undertaking may, in lieu thereof, carry out shift work under the terms and conditions as are prescribed by the General Construction and Maintenance, Civil and Mechanical Engineering, &c. (State) Award made 13 July 1998, as varied, from time to time or by any award replacing the said award.
