Pay rates
The minimum rates of pay and penalty rates that apply to your employees are determined by both the Horticulture Award and the pre-modern award that would have applied to your business before 1 January 2010. From 1 July 2010 transitional rates of pay and penalties contained in the Horticulture Award 2010 will take effect.
The base rates of pay in the Horticulture Award 2010 applied in full from 1 January 2010 for the following employers and employees:
- non-constitutional corporations that were created after 1 January 2010 in NSW, SA, TAS or QLD
- the award free employees of non-constitutional corporations that were created before 1 January 2010 in NSW, SA, TAS or QLD
- award-free juniors, trainees and apprentices in the national system that had no minimum wage instrument.
Piecework rates may also be paid to employees in substitution for hourly rates of pay.
Pay and Conditions Guides
You can access Pay and Conditions Guides that provide a summary of pay and conditions under your modern and pre-modern award. They also deal with frequency of payment provisions and provide a basic guide to working out penalty rates from 1 July 2010.
Hours of work
Full-time and part-time employees
- 152 ordinary hours over a four week period.
- Unless an arrangement is in place, ordinary hours:
- shouldn't exceed eight hours per day (but cannot exceed 12 hours)
- will be worked between 6am to 6pm Monday to Friday
- Hours worked in excess of ordinary hours are deemed overtime.
Shiftwork employee
- 152 ordinary hours over four weeks. Shouldn't exceed eight hours per shift without the payment of overtime.
- Afternoon shift finishes between 6pm and at or before midnight, night shift finishes after midnight and at or before 8am.
- Hours worked in excess of ordinary hours are deemed overtime.
For full details see clause 22 of the Horticulture Award 2010 [MA000028].
Breaks
- An unpaid meal break of between 30 minutes to one hour should be taken no later than after five hours of starting work (unless otherwise mutually agreed). Employees instructed to work during a meal break are entitled to an overtime rate of 200% until they are released for their meal break.
- Employees will be paid a rest break of 10 minutes each morning. An additional unpaid rest break may be mutually agreed.
- There should be a 10-hour break between finishing work on one day and starting work the next day.
For full details see clause 23 of the Horticulture Award 2010 [MA000028].
Overtime
Overtime is not included in the Model Transitional Provisions and is therefore not subject to phasing arrangements set out in Schedule A of Horticulture Award 2010. Therefore, overtime entitlements under the Horticulture Award 2010, commenced operation on 1 January 2010.
Under the Horticulture Award there is no specific entitlement to overtime for casual employees as there is for full-time, part-time and shiftworker employees. Casuals are not entitled to overtime under this modern award. A casual employee receives their hourly rate and casual loading for all hours worked.
The overtime provisions in the Horticulture Award 2010 are:
- full-time, part-time and shiftwork employees are entitled to an overtime rate of pay of 150%, except on a Sunday when the rate is 200%, subject to the following:
- if employees are required to work on a Saturday and the majority of these employees elect to work on the Sunday instead, then the work performed on that Sunday will be paid at Saturday rates (150%)
- during harvest period, the first eight hours of overtime in a week may include five hours work on a Sunday at the rate of 150%, but all Sunday work in excess of the eighth overtime hour worked in the week, or in excess of five hours on a Sunday, will be paid at the rate of 200%
- A minimum of three hours work must be paid on a Sunday.
- employees may have time off instead of payment for overtime. Instead of taking time off duty the employee may elect to be paid for the overtime worked provided that this election is made clear to the employer or the employer's representative at the time that overtime is offered.
For full details see clause 24 of the Horticulture Award 2010 Horticulture Award 2010 [MA000028].
Employment status
At the time of engagement you must inform each employee of the terms of their employment and in particular whether they are full-time, part-time or casual. You must inform them of the ordinary hours of work and starting and finishing times, even if it is for short-term or seasonal employment.
Important! Under the Horticulture Award 2010, casual employees get paid no less than 1/38th of the minimum weekly rate of pay for an employee in the relevant minimum wage and classification in the award for each hour worked, plus a casual loading of 25%.
For full details see clause 10 of the Horticulture Award 2010 Horticulture Award 2010 [MA000028].