Supported Employment Services Award

Coverage here is service-model specific. Mixed operations need a role-by-role review rather than a whole-business assumption.

• Confirm the business operates supported employment services within the definition in clause 4.3.
• If the provider also performs aged care, health support or broader social and community services work, check those activities separately because clause 4.2 excludes them from this award.
• Do not assume executive or management roles are covered, because clause 4.4 excludes positions outside the classification structure.

Classification is central to compliance under this award because the structure deliberately separates different kinds of supported work.

• At engagement, grade employees by skills, experience, qualifications and the nature of the position.
• Schedule A makes clear that Grades 1 to 7 can apply to employees with or without disability who perform the duties and exercise the responsibility in those descriptors.
• Schedule A also contains a separate supported employment pathway for employees with a disability whose accommodated position does not fall into the Grades 1 to 7 pathway.
• Do not merge these pathways together just because the business wants one simple payroll model.

The supported wage question is not a shortcut around classification. Employers should handle those two questions separately and in the right order.

• Treat the Supported Wage System as a separate decision from classification.
• Clause 15.4 ties wage assessment to Schedule D and to the rate of the relevant grade.
• Clause 15.4 also contains a no-decrease protection unless the issue is regression of the employee's disability in the circumstances identified there.
• Keep a record that shows the grade decision first and the supported wage assessment second.

Rostering looks simple at first glance, but evening and weekend boundaries still matter and should be checked before rosters are issued.

• Ordinary hours are worked in no more than 5 consecutive shifts of no more than 8 hours, unless there is agreement for 10 consecutive hours.
• Ordinary hours must not exceed 38 per week or an average of 38 over the agreed roster cycle.
• Ordinary time sits between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm Monday to Sunday.
• Hours after 6.00 pm Monday to Friday or on weekends fall into the penalty rate framework, so roster design and payroll treatment need to line up.

Allowances and supervision practices both affect compliance under this award. A supported workplace still needs disciplined payroll and communication controls.

• Check leading hand, first aid, toilet cleaning, vehicle, meal and laundry allowance provisions separately from base wages.
• Clause 18.2 says the leading hand allowance is paid for all purposes, so it can affect later calculations.
• Clause 13A means after-hours contact and emergency roster practices should be reviewed as part of day-to-day supervision, not only as a legal footnote.

This award gives employers several engagement models, but each has its own controls and should be documented separately.

• If traineeships are used, clause 15.3 incorporates the National Training Wage framework from Schedule E to the Miscellaneous Award 2020 as at the date stated in the award extract.
• For part-time employees, set the written pattern at engagement and record later variations in writing.
• Keep casual minimum engagement and overtime rules separate from part-time rules instead of using one blended model for all flexible labour.

PR811479

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, 18 - Allowances, Schedule B - Summary of Hourly Rates of Pay, Schedule C - Summary of Monetary Allowances, Schedule D - Supported Wage System, Schedule H - Transitional Arrangements