Pest Control Industry Award

Coverage is about the pest control work being done and the classification that best fits it. A business name or job title is not enough on its own.

• Test the business activity against the pest control industry definition in clause 4.2.
• If another award might also apply, compare the actual work and the environment in which it is normally performed.
• Remember the on-hire and group training extensions in clauses 4.4 and 4.5, but only subject to the exclusions in clause 4.6.

This award is strict about engagement records for part-time employees, and those records drive overtime outcomes later on.

• Tell each employee in writing whether they are full-time, part-time or casual.
• For part-time staff, record the agreed hours, days and actual start and finish times.
• Keep any change to the part-time pattern in writing.
• Treat time beyond the agreed or varied part-time pattern as overtime.

Rosters need to fit the award's ordinary-hours framework, and casual payroll needs to respect both the loading and the minimum engagement rule.

• Casuals are paid the minimum hourly rate for the classification plus the casual loading for ordinary hours.
• Casuals must be paid for at least 3 hours for each start on any day.
• Ordinary hours average 38 per week over a maximum 4 week cycle.
• For day workers, ordinary hours can be worked Monday to Sunday between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm.

This award has practical payroll traps in RDO arrangements, pay frequency and unusual allowance triggers tied to the work performed.

• The award provides a 19 day, 4 week cycle with a rostered day off and also allows alternative RDO arrangements by agreement in clause 14.1.
• Wages, including overtime, penalties and allowances, must be paid weekly or fortnightly.
• Final pay is due within 7 days after termination.
• Allowance triggers include leading hand duties, first aid, fumigation depot work and treatment of a verminous or decomposed human body.

Some obligations now sit partly in the NES and the Fair Work Act, so award compliance should be linked to those systems.

• Requests for flexible working arrangements are dealt with in the NES, not by a separate award formula.
• The pathway from casual to full-time or part-time employment also sits in the NES.
• The right to disconnect operates alongside this award.
• Managers must not directly or indirectly prevent an employee from exercising that right.

Rate setting starts with the right level and the right employment pathway. It is not a flat business rate exercise across all field staff.

• Employees must be classified under the award structure before pay and rostering decisions are made.
• Minimum rates differ across the Level 1 to Level 5 structure.
• Trainees may instead fall under the national training wage provisions incorporated from Schedule E to the Miscellaneous Award 2020.

PR799280, PR799377, PR799532

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

Affected: 16 - Minimum ratess, 18 - Allowances, Schedule A - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule B - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule C - Supported Wage System