Poultry Processing Award

This award is task-driven. The classification decision should follow the actual processing duties being done inside the poultry operation.

• Check that the work sits inside the poultry processing definition in clause 4.2.
• Remember the award also extends to on-hire labour and hosted trainees, subject to the exclusions.
• Do not decide coverage from a job title alone.
• Use the Schedule A process employee levels as the control point for classification.

Poultry plants often move people across lines quickly. Classification should keep up with the actual tasks, not the original hire level.

• Level 1 is a new entrant under structured induction and direct supervision.
• Level 2 includes tasks such as crate washer loading, residual feather removal, basic packing, freezer or chiller handling and material handling equipment work.
• Level 3 includes kill and evisceration line work, bagging and clipping, boneless product selection, cut-up machine duties and other product-preparation tasks.
• Where an employee is required to perform higher-level duties, clause 15.5 changes the pay outcome depending on how long that higher work lasts.

Short-notice line changes are common in processing plants, but the award still imposes basic structure around part-time rosters and casual engagements.

• Tell part-time employees their ordinary hours and starting and finishing times.
• Roster part-time employees for at least 3 consecutive hours on a day or shift.
• Give at least 48 hours' notice if a part-time employee's rostered hours are altered.
• Pay casuals for a minimum of 3 hours for each engagement.

The award gives some flexibility for day and shift work, but it still expects planning, notice and proper agreement rather than last-minute assumptions.

• Ordinary hours average 38 per week, with a limit of 10 ordinary hours per day and 152 over 28 days unless an agreed variation applies.
• Day worker weekend ordinary hours need the agreement described in clause 13.2(a).
• Shiftworkers must be given at least 48 hours' notice of a requirement to work shiftwork and of any alteration to their hours, unless the notice is waived by agreement.

Poultry processing payroll is not just about the base classification. Junior categories and plant allowances can materially change what is due.

• Trainees, unapprenticed juniors and supported wage employees sit outside the standard adult level table.
• Junior rates are set separately for unapprenticed juniors.
• Check leading hand, cold work, first aid, meal allowance and vehicle allowance triggers as part of each payroll cycle.
• Cold-room work and overtime-heavy operations need particular attention because the award deals with them specifically.

Some modern compliance points now sit partly outside the historical award wording, so systems need to link award administration to the NES and Fair Work Act rights.

• The pathway from casual to full-time or part-time employment comes from the NES.
• The right to disconnect operates alongside the award.
• Supervisors should still distinguish between urgent plant issues and ordinary after-hours contact.

PR799280, PR799354, PR799510

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

Affected: 15 - Minimum rates, 17 - Allowances, Schedule B - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule C - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule D - Supported Wage System