17. Salary on higher duties
17.1 Where a role needs to be filled for two or more working weeks, higher duties allowance will be paid for the full period to any employee temporarily occupying the role acting at a classification level higher than their substantive classification level.
17.2 Higher duties allowance will be equal to the difference between the employee’s current salary and the salary that would be payable if they were promoted to the higher classification level, or a higher amount determined by the Clerk.
17.3 Where an employee is found to be eligible for salary progression at their acting classification level they will receive an appropriate increase in the rate of higher duties allowance. The employee’s salary level will be retained for all future periods of acting regardless of elapsed time.
17.4 Where an employee is assigned only part of the higher duties, the Clerk will determine the amount of allowance payable.
17.5 Higher duties allowance will be payable while an employee is acting at a higher classification as part of a job-sharing arrangement where the duration of the arrangement is at least two working weeks.
17.6 The Clerk may shorten the qualifying period for higher duties allowance on a case-by-case basis.
17.7 An employee who is required to temporarily perform work at a Senior Executive Service classification for a period exceeding two weeks will be paid an annual salary as determined by the Clerk. Other conditions of service applicable to the employee temporarily performing work at the Senior Executive Service classification will be those contained in this Agreement.
18. Salary on reduction
18.1 Where the Clerk allocates a lower classification to an employee on an ongoing basis, the Clerk will determine the salary point to be paid, having regard to the experience, qualifications and skills of the employee and the circumstances under which the decision was made.
18.2 Where an employee elects, in writing, to be temporarily assigned duties at a lower classification, the Clerk will determine the salary that the employee will be paid while working at the lower classification, having regard to the experience, qualifications and skills of the employee and the circumstances under which the election was made.
19. Allowances and reimbursements
House Sitting Allowance and Committee Allowance
19.1 The Clerk may authorise the payment of a House Sitting Allowance (HSA) or a Committee Allowance (CA) to employees at Parliamentary Executive levels.
19.2 Claims for HSA or CA will be made as set out in departmental guidelines.
19.3 Payment of HSA and CA will be made at:
- single time rates for all approved extra duty performed in addition to an employee’s ordinary hours until 10.30pm; and
- one and one half single time rates for all approved extra duty performed after 10.30pm.
Meal allowance
19.4 If an employee is required to work overtime, or perform additional duty which attracts HSA or CA, and the period of overtime or additional duty commences before and extends beyond the completion of a meal period, they will be paid an allowance of $24.00 per occasion.
19.5 For the purposes of clause 19.4, a meal period is:
Footwear reimbursement
19.6 Where an employee is required to wear particular footwear, either for work health and safety reasons or as part of a uniform, they will be entitled to seek reimbursement for the specified footwear up to the amount of $200.00 per annum. The reimbursement will be paid as soon as practicable following the anniversary of commencement of their employment with the department and where the employee makes a claim for the reimbursement by providing the relevant tax invoice.
Workplace support allowance
19.7 Employees will be paid a taxable workplace support allowance in August each year, to assist with costs associated with, but not limited to:
- corrective lenses for screen-based equipment;
- health and fitness activities;
- professional memberships or subscriptions; and
- airline lounge memberships.
19.8 The amount of the allowance will be:
- $600 for an ongoing employee;
- $500 for a non-ongoing employee; and
- $400 for a casual employee.
19.9 Employees who commence part-way through the year (August to July), or who are granted miscellaneous leave without pay for any purpose during the period, will be paid a pro-rata amount for completed service during the period.
Senior Clerk of Committees allowance
19.10 The occupant of the position of Senior Clerk of Committees will be paid an allowance of $15,998.00 per annum (and adjusted in line with future salary increases), to be paid as a fortnightly allowance. This allowance is payable in recognition of the added responsibilities of the employee performing the duties of the position.
19.11 The following conditions apply to the payment of this allowance:
- subject to clause 17.1, it is not payable for any period less than two weeks of higher duties;
- where the occupant of the position is temporarily assigned duties at a Senior Executive Service classification, the allowance will continue to be paid during any period of the higher duties that does not attract payment of salary at the higher classification in accordance with clause 17.1;
- it is a taxable allowance but will not count as salary for superannuation purposes;
- the allowance will continue to be paid during periods of paid leave; and
- it will be included as salary for the purposes of calculating final entitlements in respect of payment in lieu of annual or long service leave.
Workplace responsibility allowance
19.12 A workplace responsibility allowance (WRA) will be paid where an employee who is appointed by the department or elected by eligible peers to one of the following roles:
- First Aid Officer;
- Health and Safety Representative;
- Emergency Warden;
- Harassment Contact Officer; and
- Mental Health First Aid Officer.
19.13 The minimum rate will be:
19.14 An employee is not to receive more than one WRA unless approved by the Clerk due to operational requirements.
19.15 The full WRA is payable regardless of flexible work and part-time arrangements.
19.16 Casual employees who are eligible to receive a WRA will be paid the full amount, as varied from time to time provided they engage in work during any given pay cycle, irrespective of the frequency and duration of the work undertaken.
Community language allowance
19.17 A community language allowance will be paid where the Clerk determines that an employee is regularly required to use their ability to communicate in Braille or a language other than English (including First Nations languages and AUSLAN) in the course of their work, and the employee meets the required level of competency set by the Clerk.
19.18 Further detail is set out in departmental guidelines.
19.19 The allowance is paid in accordance with the employee’s level of competency:
19.20 The allowance is calculated annually and paid fortnightly.
19.21 The full allowance is payable regardless of flexible work and part-time arrangements.
19.22 The allowance is payable during periods of paid leave.
19.23 The allowance counts as salary for superannuation purposes and for calculating retirement and redundancy entitlements.
20. Loss or damage
20.1 The Clerk may approve reimbursement to an employee for loss or damage to clothing or personal effects which occurs as a direct consequence of the performance of their duties at work. Employees are to report any such loss or damage, as soon as practicable after the occurrence, to their immediate manager.