From 1 January 2010, modern awards have covered most workplaces. The commencement of modern awards means that there have been changes to minimum terms and conditions for many employees. The changes vary by state, industry and employer.
Transitional arrangements in most modern awards mean that new pay rates (including loadings and penalties) commenced on the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2010.
Transitional arrangements in most modern awards give employers and employees time to adjust to the changes by allowing new pay rates to be phased in over a period of four years until the full modern award rates apply from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2014.
To work out pay rates in this period, you need to refer to the pre-modern award entitlement that used to cover the employee before 1 January 2010 as well as the relevant modern award entitlement. Where there was no existing loading or penalty applying under the existing instrument then the new loading or penalty in the modern award is also progressively introduced.
The tools on this site, like PayCheck Plus, automatically calculate base rates of pay for most modern awards.