Award Minimum Wage increase - frequently asked questions
When the Fair Work Commission announces their minimum wage increases, it is common for practice owners and managers to have questions on what these changes mean for their practice. The Workplace Relations Team answer some of the questions you may have below.
Which wage increase is applicable to me?
The Award Minimum Wages will increase by 4.6%, applicable to employees under both the Health Professional and Support Service Award 2020 and the Nurses Award 2020. This is subject to a minimum increase for award classification based on a 38 hour week for a full-time employee.
This means minimum award wages:
ABOVE $869.60 per week will get a 4.6% increase; and
BELOW $869.60 per week, will get a $40 increase.
*Please also note that the Super Guarantee will also increase to 10.5% from July 1 2022. Employers will need to use this new rate to calculate super on payments made to employees on or after July 1. This is applicable to some or all of the pay period worked before July 1.
Who will be entitled to the minimum wage increase?
Private practice staff who are classified under the Health Professional and Support Services Award 2020 and the Nurses Award 2020 are entitled to the increased minimum wage. This includes increases in penalty rates and allowances. This is applicable to all full-time, part-time and causal employees.
What do I do if my staff are being paid the award minimum rate of pay and it has been increased?
If your staff are being paid at the minimum award rate, you will need increase their pay rate to the new award minimum rate. This means you will need to discuss and confirm with your employees their new rate of pay. This can done by email correspondence or by way of a letter of amendment to their contract.
Employers need to be clear with staff what the change in rate is and how much it varies.
What if my staff are being paid above the award - do I need to increase their hourly rate?
Employees already being paid above the award rate may not need to receive an increase in pay. Please refer to the new Rates of Pay Guide to see what the classification and pay point level that staff member is classified under has increased to. If your employee’s current above award rate is still above the minimum within the guide, you may not need to increase their hourly rate of pay. However, this will also be dependent on their employment contract. Contact the Workplace Relations Team if you’re unsure.
How does this impact my employees on a Grossed up Wage Contract?
If your staff are being paid above the minimum award rate and you are absorbing entitlements into their above award wage, you may need to increase their rate of pay to ensure they remain better off under the agreement. Please review your employee's Better off Overall Test (BOOT) 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 this within your subscription.
When do I need to increase my employee’s hourly rate of pay?
As the new award minimum rates of pay are operative from 1 July, you do not need to increase your employees receiving the minimum award rate of pay until July 1 2022.
For example, if your payment period is fortnightly and is within the period Monday 27 June to Monday 11 July, your employees will receive two different pay rates within that period. From Monday 27 June to Thursday 30 June, they will receive their current hourly rate of pay, however, from Friday 1 July to Monday 11 July, they will receive the new award minimum hourly rate of pay.
| Monday 27 June - Thursday 30 June | Current rate of pay |
| Friday 1 July - Monday 11 July | New increased hourly rate of pay |
It’s important that we raised this as previously the following year increases were applicable on or after the first pay period from 1 July.
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.
If the employee’s rate of pay is the only thing changing, you can address this by doing an amendment to their contract rather than issuing a new one. However, we have made changes and additions to our templates over time and therefore now is a great time to have them checked to ensure they remain up-to-date.
There have been significant legislative changes over the last two years, so if your contracts are more than a few years old, contact our Workplace Relations Team for guidance.
If you have any more questions, please contact the Workplace Relations Team on (07) 3872 2222 or email us at workplacerelations@amaq.com.au.