Innovative Clauses in Enterprise Agreements

By ACIRRT

There is a shift in some EAs to pooled leave entitlements as well as some relatively generous entitlements.

In the education sector an agreement provides a generous amount of paid sick leave for non-work related illness or injury.

In the automotive sector employees have been granted an increased amount of bereavement leave, based on the employees relationship to the deceased. Additional leave is available in some circumstances for travel, and employees can access annual leave.

Two agreements, one in the higher education sector, and the other in metal manufacturing, allow for the conversion of annual leave loading into an extra leave entitlement.

In another union agreement, there is an increase in annual leave, bereavement leave and there are separate entitlements to personal and carers leave. The agreement also provides for a career break of up to seven years for the purposes of child rearing.

Casual employment clauses

In the construction industry an agreement has provided casually and seasonally employed workers with limited severance pay after 6 months service.

In the agricultural sector clauses allow casuals to bank hours over a work cycle. This gives them a consistent rate of pay over a cycle. This enables casual workers to take time off work for personal or holiday reasons without reducing their weekly "wage". It recognises that casual workers are being employed on an ongoing basis and are subject to similar conditions and stresses as permanent workers.

(ACIRRT ADAM Report no. 34, September 2002)