Critical Changes to Employment Awards – Effective 1st Jan 2025

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Please see below update pushed through by Fairwork & notified today:

From January, new pay rates and new rules about how long employees can stay at the lowest classification level in modern awards will come into effect.

The awards will be updated to say that:

  • employees can only remain at the lowest classification level for a certain period of time, after which they must progress to the next classification level;
  • and/or the minimum pay rate for some of the lowest classification levels in a number of awards will increase.

For the vast majority of the impacted awards, the changes will take effect on 1 January 2025

 

The affected awards fall into three categories:

Group 1:           Where there are new rules about how long employees can stay in the lowest classification

Group 2:           Where there are increases to pay rates for employees at some of the lowest classification levels

Group 3:           Where the award contains both new rules about length of time in the lowest classification and new pay rates

GROUP 1:

Below are awards that have new rules for introductory classifications from 1 January 2025 or 1 April 2025

Effective – 1 January 2025
Airline Ground Staff Award
Amusement Award
Animal and Veterinary Services Award
Australian Government Award
Dry Cleaning and Laundry Award
Fitness Award
Food and Beverage Manufacturing Award
Funeral Award
Graphic Arts and Printing Award
Joinery Award
Live Performance Award
Manufacturing Award
Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award
Meat Award
Pest Control Award
Port Authorities Award
Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Associated Industries Award
Timber Award
Travelling Shows Award
Vehicle Award
Effective – 1 April 2025
Horticulture Award

GROUP 2:

New rates of pay for employees at some of the lowest classification levels

Effective – 1 January 2025
Architects Award
Business Equipment Award
Children’s Services Award
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award

Group 3:     

Where the award contains both new rules about length of time in the lowest classification and new pay rates

Effective – 1 January 2025
Air Pilots Award
Aquaculture Industry Award
Architects Award
Business Equipment Award
Cement, Lime and Quarrying Award
Children’s Services Award
Concrete Products Award
Cotton Ginning Award
Electrical, Electronic and Communications Contracting Award
Rail Industry Award
Seafood Processing Award
Seagoing Industry Award
Sugar Industry Award
Wine Industry Award
Wool Storage, Sampling and Testing Award
 
Effective – 1 April 2025
Pastoral Award

Some employers and employees may be covered by an enterprise agreement and not an affected award.

HOWEVER, If an employee is covered by an enterprise agreement and paid introductory rates, they will still be required to be paid in line with the new classification rate under the award that would otherwise apply to them.

This change will apply from 1 January or 1 April 2025.

The industry the enterprise agreement sits in will determine when this rule applies from:

  • for industries listed above (except for horticulture and pastoral) this will apply from 1 January 2025
  • for the horticulture and pastoral industries, this will apply from 1 April 2025.

What does this mean?

Group 1 – For example, under the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020 (‘Manufacturing Award’) the lowest classification is currently the “C14 – Engineering/Manufacturing Employee—Level 1” classification.

Wording will be inserted into the Manufacturing Award to say that an employee will only be able to work in this classification for a maximum of 3 months. After that they will need to be classified at the next level up, ie the “C13 – Engineering/Manufacturing Employee—Level 2” classification.

One of the consequences of these changes will mean that where an employer currently has employees who have been employed under the lowest classification level for longer than the new maximum period, they will need to be automatically re-classified at the next level up (and receive the appropriate pay rise) from 1 January 2025.

Group 2 – For example, under the Children’s Services Award 2010, the Level 1.1 classification currently has a minimum rate of pay of $910.90 per week or $23.97 per hour.

As of the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2025, this rate will increase to $915.90 per week or $24.10 per hour.

If you are an employer covered by one of the impacted awards, it will be vital that you increase the rates of pay for any employee classified at any of the levels which are increasing.

For further information https://www.fairwork.gov.au/about-us/workplace-laws/award-changes/changes-to-entry-level-classifications-in-awards

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