2.5 Recruitment, selection and
employment guide including
industrial, legal and insurance
requirements
2.5.4 Remuneration
Following the commencement of Work Choices, and during the
transition period for NAPSAs, the minimum remuneration will
depend on whether a Federal Award, a NAPSA or a Certified
Agreement applies. The applicable industrial instrument will
set the minimum remuneration, including where an Australian
Workplace Agreement or common law contract is being used
by the GP practice.
Nurses’ salaries, classification structures and conditions of employment vary across states and territories, and most have
different awards which set out minimum pay and conditions.
Some states and territories also have awards that apply
specifically to nurses working in medical rooms.
An Award provides the employer with the minimum pay rates
and employment conditions which must be given to employees.
Employing a nurse with appropriate skills, knowledge and
experience will require a competitive remuneration package. A
nurse’s individual skills and experience and further qualifications
may also need to be considered during salary negotiations.
Alternatively, a contract or certified agreement can be prepared and applied.
A certified agreement is a document containing all the conditions of employment and clauses that apply to that
practice only. It must not be less than the minimum conditions
and you may employ and remunerate over and above those
conditions and any relevant award.
Individual contracts can also be used. Each staff member
would have their own ‘contract’ of employment referring to their
particular conditions and remuneration. These conditions cannot
be less than the minimum conditions, however the practice may
use conditions and remuneration over and above the award.
Conditions of Employment for information about salaries
and conditions of employment visit the website of the Australian
Nursing Federation branch in your state or territory.
www.anfvic.asn.au
www.nswnurses.asn.au
www.actanf.org.au
www.anfwa.asn.au
www.anftas.org
www.qnu.org.au
www.sa.anf.org.au
www.anfnt.org.au
Further information may be accessed through ANF national
website http://www.anf.org.au
Contract/award/agreement
Each Australian state has a minimum pay rate and conditions
that will need to be met. Access current information by referring
to http://www.wagenet.gov.au or calling Wage Line
1300 363 264 — NSW, VIC, TAS, ACT , NT
1300 369 945 — QLD
1300 365 255 — SA
1300 655 266 — WA
See also the AGPAL site: http://www.qip.com.au/library.asp?aqid=1&libid=42&cat_id=168 1
Other relevant employment information
Superannuation
To find all the information on superannuation and employment
log on to http://www.ato.gov.au/super/
Occupational health and safety/Workcover
www.business.gov.au
www.workcover.qld.gov.au
www.worksafe.nt.gov.au
www.workcover.tas.gov.au
www.workcover.nsw.gov.au
www.workcover.sa.gov.au
www.workcover.wa.gov.au
www.workcover.vic.gov.au
www.workcover.act.gov.au
Discrimination law
Both federal and state/territory discrimination law will apply to
the GP practice and the employment of the practice nurse.
A good starting point for further information is the Human
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission website
www.humanrights.gov.au
Three federal laws — the Sex Discrimination Act, the Racial Discrimination Act and the Disability Discrimination Act — prohibit an employer from discriminating either directly or
indirectly when employing staff on the grounds of sex (including
pregnancy and childbirth) or sexual orientation, colour, age,
race or disability, religious or ethical beliefs, family, marital or
employment status, ethnic or national origin, political opinion,
gender identity, and breastfeeding.
The text of these laws can be found at the following Links:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/sda1984209/
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/rda1975202/
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/dda1992264/
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