Commercial Sales Award

This award is occupation based, not a general sales award. Coverage rises or falls on the real nature of the work being done.

• Check whether the role is genuinely a Commercial Traveller, Merchandiser or Advertising Sales Representative.
• Compare any competing award before relying on this one.
• Where more than one award could matter, use the classification most appropriate to the work performed and the environment in which it is normally performed.

The written statement obligation is one of the award's main practical compliance rules. It is the best protection against later disputes about commission and travel arrangements.

• Give each employee the required written statement within 14 days of starting.
• Include remuneration, vehicle arrangements, commission rates and the conditions on which commission is or is not payable.
• Review the document whenever the sales model changes.

Territory and commission terms should not be left to informal practice. The award expects these matters to be documented clearly.

• Record any deductions that are or may be made from commission.
• If the employee has a territory, identify its boundaries or limits.
• If territories are changed, give advice to the employee concerned as the clause requires.

Flexible sales work still needs structured engagement terms. Part-time and casual arrangements should be documented before the role starts moving in practice.

• For part-time employees, agree the hours, days and start and finish times in writing.
• Any variation must be by consent and in writing.
• Casuals receive a separate loading for each ordinary hour worked.

The award allows broad flexibility about when work is done, but it still regulates daily length, averaging and casual minimum attendance.

• Casual employees must be engaged and paid for at least 2 consecutive hours on each attendance.
• Full-time ordinary hours average 38 per week, with a maximum of 152 hours over 28 consecutive days.
• Ordinary hours may be worked on any day of the week but cannot exceed 10 hours in a day.

The biggest payroll risks under this award usually sit in the interaction between classification and travelling expense rules.

• Allow reasonable time for regular and normal meals on each day of employment.
• Use the award's classification structure rather than a generic sales title.
• Check weekend away from home, living away from home, vehicle and telephone obligations whenever the role involves travel.

The award gives flexibility, but only through its stated mechanisms. Informal side deals are difficult to defend later on.

• Keep any individual flexibility arrangement separate from commission design or territory management.
• Handle NES flexible work requests through the correct statutory pathway.
• If substituting public holidays by agreement, use the award's own clause instead of relying on custom.

PR799280, PR799363, PR799518

The current consolidated award incorporates these recent variation determinations. Use the consolidated wording when checking any affected clause, schedule, rate or allowance.

Affected: 15 - Classifications and minimum rates, 17 - Allowances, Schedule A - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule B - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule C - Supported Wage System