Awards
Typically, workers on fruit and vegetable farms are paid according to the Horticulture Award. The Fair Work Commission has been reviewing and negotiating changes to the Horticulture Award since 2014. The revised Award is close to being finalised and may be enacted in the coming months.
Some significant changes to the Award are anticipated. For example, casual work undertaken outside the hours of 5am and 8:30pm (or 4am and 7:30pm in QLD during daylight savings) may attract a 15 per cent loading and once a worker has worked more than 304 hours in an eight-week period they will be paid overtime (150 per cent).
Permanents and piece workers would not be impacted by these changes.
Enterprise agreements
Growers may consider making an enterprise agreement as an alternative to the Award. This is a form of agreement which is negotiated with your employees, then assessed and certified by the Fair Work Commission. The resulting agreement sets out all employment conditions for your enterprise.
When a workplace has a certified agreement in place, it overrides the Award. However, the base pay rate in the agreement cannot be less than the base pay rate in the award and the National Employment Standards still apply.
Certified agreements continue to apply until they are terminated or replaced, even if their nominal expiry date has passed.
Individual Flexibility Arrangement
Another option is an Individual Flexibility Arrangement (IFA) – an agreement made with an individual employee that does not need to be approved by the Fair Work Commission.
IFAs allow for variations to the effect of modern awards or enterprise agreements. They are aimed at meeting the genuine needs of employers and individual workers, while ensuring minimum entitlements and protections are not undermined.
IFAs must be made using the appropriate methods, meet the National Employment Standards and achieve the Better Off Overall Test (BOOT). If the Fair Work Ombudsman finds an IFA does not meet the criteria, penalties may be imposed on the employer.
To ensure you implement an industrial instrument correctly, check with Growcom’s Workplace Relations advice team.
Source: Growcom