Change of award rates/superannuation rate

It can be common for practice owners and practice managers to have questions about what this may mean to them and their staff and the impact to salary increases for review cycles outside of this timeframe and above the award.

The Workplace Relations Team will release the Rates of Pay Guide for 2024-25 in July for employees under the Health Professional and Support Services Award 2020 and the Nurses Award 2020 in line with the commission’s determinations. The Super Guarantee will increase from 11 per cent to 11.5 per cent from 1 July 2024. Employers will need to use this new rate to calculate super on payments made to employees on or after 1 July. 

AMA Queensland Workplace Relations News and Toolkit subscribers will receive a copy of our Rates of Pay Guide as part of their subscription. 

We have put together an FAQ guide to understand any changes that may be made and any changes you may have to make. 

What do I do if my staff are being paid the award minimum rate of pay?
If staff are being paid the minimum award rate it will be necessary to increase their rate of pay to the new award minimum. This means you will need to discuss and confirm with your employees their new rate of pay. Confirmation of their new rate should be communicated in writing via email correspondence or by way of a letter of amendment to their contract. It is really important that you are clear with your staff, what the change in rate is and how much it varies by.

What if my staff are being paid above the Award, do I need to increase their hourly rate?
Staff who are already being paid above the Award may not need to receive an increase in pay. It is important that employers refer to the new Rate of Pay Guide to see what the rate of pay has increased to for their classification and pay point levels. If your employees current above award rate is still above the minimum within the guide, you may not need to increase their hourly rate of pay.

How does this impact my employees on a Grossed up Wage Contract?
If staff are being paid above the minimum award rate and you are absorbing certain entitlements into their above Award wage, you may need to increase their rate of pay to ensure they remain better off under the agreement. It is important that employers are reviewing their staffs better off overall test (BOOT) calculations to identify if their rate of pay should be reconsidered to accommodate the increases. For our Workplace Relations Toolkit subscribers, the Workplace Relations Team can check how much better off overall staff remain complimentary with your subscription.

When do I need to increase my employees hourly rate of pay?
As the new Award minimum rates of pay will be operative from 1 July, applicable staff will receive the increase in their rate of pay from 1 July 2024. This may mean that some staff will receive two different rates of pay within this time.

For example, if your payment period is fortnightly and you have staff who are paid the award minimum rate of pay, the following rates would apply for the period.

Monday 24 June - Sunday 30 June: current rate of pay
Monday 1 July - Monday 8 July: new increased hourly rate of pay

Are my Workplace Relations contract templates affected? Do I need to purchase new ones?
AMA Queensland’s Workplace Relations contract templates are purposely drafted to generally refer to the applicable Award to ensure that when most changes occur, you do not need to change or purchase new templates unless purchased prior to May 2023. After this time, they were reviewed and updated by a legal team so it may be a great time to update your contracts if required.

Do all my employee contracts need to be reviewed and updated?
Each financial year when there is a pay increase and change in superannuation contributions, it can be a great opportunity to review staff contracts and ensure they are up-to-date with current legislation and award references. This may be as simple as updating the modern Award title if applicable.

Remember the legislation around casual contracts and casual conversion. An employer has to offer an employee casual conversion (other than a small business owner, employing fewer than 15 employees) to full-time or part-time permanent employment if they:

• have worked for you for 12 months
• have worked a regular pattern of hours for at least the last six months on an ongoing basis
• could continue working those hours as a permanent employee without significant changes

Are there times when I wouldn’t consider an increase?
The simplistic answer is yes, if an employee is being paid inline or above the Award and on a performance improvement plan, then a salary increase would be inconsistent with the performance improvement approach.

If you have any questions regarding anything in this article or would like to purchase the template contracts pack, please contact the Workplace Relations Team on 07 3872 2264 or email us at workplacerelations@amaq.com.au