Pair your own penalties

A user also has the option to create their own penalty pairings through the ‘pair your own penalties’ option. The penalties in this section will be those that apply for the classification and employment status (full-time, part-time or casual) you have selected.

Usually, when you get to the point of selecting your penalty rates in PayCheck Plus, there will be a series of ‘penalty pairs’ on this screen. Penalty pairs are common modern and pre-modern award penalty rates that apply for overlapping periods of time. You will need to identify the hours than an employee would be working and check to see if a ‘penalty pair’ applies for the same hours of work.

However, if you cannot find a penalty pair that applies for the hours you wish to calculate, you can pair your own penalty rates.

How do I pair my own penalties?

If you can’t find the penalty pair you’re looking for, you can create one by pairing a modern and pre-modern award penalty from a list of selections. Here’s how:

1. When you get to the ‘Select your own penalties’ screen, click on the ‘pair your own’ link.
2. Look through the list of modern award penalties on the left to find one that you think applies. You can see how each applies by selecting the expand iconnext to the penalty title.
3. Check the pre-modern award penalty list on the right to see if there’s a pre-modern award penalty that applies at the same time as the modern award penalty. You can find out more about each penalty by selecting the expand icon next to the penalty name.
4. If you find a modern and pre-modern award penalty that apply for overlapping times select the penalties and add them to your list.

There may be times when a penalty from only the modern or pre-modern award can apply. If you find that only one penalty applies for the time concerned, you can select that no penalty applies from the other award.

What do I do if a penalty pair doesn’t cover the entire shift?

Where you find that a penalty pair only covers part of a shift, you can check to see if a different penalty pair covers the rest of the time.

If you cannot find a penalty pair that covers the remaining time you may need to create your own penalty pair.

First search the modern award penalty list for a penalty that covers the time, then do the same for the pre-modern award. If you find that:

• a modern and pre-modern award penalty cover the time, you can select both penalties and add the pairing to your list
• a penalty from only the modern award or pre-modern award can apply, you can select the penalty and that no penalty applies from the other award
• no penalties from either award can apply for the time, you do not need to make any selections.

What does the ‘status’ of the penalty mean?

The Fair Work Ombudsman has paired common modern award and pre-modern award penalties that apply at the same time for you. If you the select the expand iconyou can view a full description of the modern and pre-modern award penalty entitlements that simultaneously apply. These penalty pairs will display onscreen with a tick .

Modern and pre-modern award penalty pairings that have been regularly chosen through the ‘pair your own’ option may also appear in your list of penalties. These penalty pairs have not been audited by the Fair Work Ombudsman and will display onscreen with a question mark .

If you choose to pair your own modern and pre-modern award penalties, the penalty pair you create will display onscreen with a plus sign .

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