twrama 1841_august_2.. - AMA WA

INDUSTRIAL
Industrial Update No. 6 (May 2010) titled Payment for
Public Holidays – Have You Been Paid Correctly? provided
advice to members as to their entitlements to be paid in
accordance with the relevant Industrial Agreement and also
advised of an understanding that the Association had reached
with Health Industrial Relations Service (HIRS).
Following the issuing of the above Industrial Update, HIRS
then sought to reinterpret the provisions of the Industrial
Agreement and determined that where a practitioner was
rostered off duty on a public holiday, they would only be
entitled to be provided with eight hours as a day in lieu rather
than be provided with a day off as an ordinary working day i.e.
10 hours in this case.
The Association again made many representations to both
Health Corporate Network (HCN) and HIRS in an attempt
to resolve the dispute. Given the position being adopted by the
Department, the Association proceeded to make an application
in the WA Industrial Relations Commission to have Clause 35
– Public Holidays interpreted.
The Association’s application was listed for hearing before
Commissioner Kenner on 21 February 2012. Commissioner
Kenner delivered his decision on 27 July 2012; the following
are extracts of the Commissioner’s decision:
“The Australian Medical Association and the Minister for
Health are in dispute as to the proper interpretation of a clause
of the Department of Health Medical Practitioners’ (WA
Country Health Service) AMA Industrial Agreement 2011
relating to public holidays. They cannot agree how a medical
practitioner is to be paid for a public holiday in circumstances
where a practitioner is not rostered to work nor otherwise
required to attend for duty. This dispute has arisen in the
Emergency Department Bunbury Regional Hospital. Given
the relevant clause is common to a number of other industrial
agreements between the parties, it also has implications across
a broader range of workplaces throughout the State.
Commissioner Kenner found in favour of the AMA saying:
“That for the purposes of clause 35 (4) the Department of
Health Medical Practitioners (WA Country Health Services)
AMA Industrial Agreement 2011, a practitioner who is
rostered off duty on a public holiday and is not required to
work on that day should be paid the number of hours that are
their usual daily rostered hours of work.”
Effectively what this means is that if you are rostered to
work 4 x 10 hours shifts per week and one of these shifts is
on a public holiday and you have not been required to work
on that day then you are paid as if the day was an ordinary
working day i.e. paid 10 hours or if the employer agrees be
allowed to take a day’s holiday in lieu at a time mutually
acceptable. The day in lieu, in this particular example, would
be a 10-hour day in lieu.
For more information please visit the Workplace Relations
- Industrial Updates section on www.ama.com.au or contact
Executive Officer Gary Bucknall on 9273 3000 or
Gary.Bucknall@amawa.com.au.
2012 Salary Survey results
Practices regularly contact the Association seeking advice
as to the appropriate or industry rates of pay for clerical,
nursing and other allied health professionals.
As a result of such requests, the Association conducted
a salary survey between 13 July 2012 and 15 August 2012.
Survey forms were sent to both members and non-members
of the Association who work as either general practitioners or
specialist private practitioners.
The survey results have now being analysed and are
available upon request by contacting Executive Officer Gary
Bucknall on 9273 3000 or Gary.Bucknall@amawa.com.au.
It is intended that a salary survey of practices will be
conducted again in July/August 2013. The Association
expresses its appreciation to those practices that participated
in the 2012 salary survey. Congratulations to Fremantle
Family Doctors who won six bottles of wine for completing
the survey.
Practices can now be assured that when they contact the
Association to seek information relating to salary rates, the
information provided will be accurate and reliable based on the
outcomes of the 2012 salary survey and will represent what is
generally paid to employees within the profession.
August MEDICUS 9