Award WagesMaking Sure You Get It Right!What are award wages? Minimum wages and award wages are legislated by Government. The salary wages that you pay to an employee must be in accordance with the most appropriate award for their particular category of employment.
The amount payable under an award depends on the duties of the position, the skill level of the individual concerned and your particular industry. The skill level is important as most awards have pay scales that take into account the skills of the job holder. Age also plays a factor in the wage payable as junior and senior rates can apply. The award wage that applies to your staff will be determined by the Industrial Relations system that applies to you. There are two Industrial Relations systems that deal with Employment Law and award wages. They are the State system and the Federal System. Those organisations that are a constitutional corporation (Pty Ltd) or a company incorporated (Pty Ltd) will be working under the conditions of a Federal Award or Agreement. Federal AwardsFederal Awards and workplace agreements are administered bythe Federal Workplace Authority. Under the Federal System minimum wages are no longer covered in awards. Information on minimum wages can be found on the Fair Pay Commission website. If you opt for a workplace agreement it cannot provide less entitlements to your employee/s than would be due to them under the minimum wages and conditions that they would receive if covered by an award. The Workplace Authority will apply the no disadvantage test to make sure that your staff are not worse off by the agreement than they would be under the appropriate award.
State AwardsIf you are a sole trader or operating as a partnership you will be employing staff under a state award or enterprise agreement. You should contact Industrial Relations Australia.Industrial Relations was once handled by the respective states. Recent changes mean that you can now call a toll free number which is 1300 766 700 and receive FREE advice 7 days per week!
Categories Of EmploymentOnce you decide to hire a new staff member you will need to choose the basis of that persons employment. Generally there are two major decisions to be made:
Full Time Continuing Employees employed under this category are expected to work a set number of hours per week. For full time workers it is usually around 35 hours per week. Usually workers under this category will fall under an Industrial Award. Therefore they will be entitled to annual leave entitlements, sick leave and the usual award entitlements. Part time continuing Temporary Employees Casual Employment Although there is no such thing as a 'permanent casual' this term is bandied about constantly with employees and also amongst some ill informed managers. Permanent casual is by nature a contradiction in terms. A permanent employee is entitled to sick leave, holiday pay etc. A casual employee is not entitled to sick leave and holiday pay. As such they are legally entitled to a higher rate of pay. This pay is calculated at the same hourly rate for a permanent employee with a casual loading added. This loading is usally about 20% of the permanent rate. I would suggest that you decide how many hours per week you are going to need this person and based on that determine whether you would like them to work as a permanent or casual employee. Where To Now?If this is a new position and you have some doubts about the longevity of the position it might be an idea to start the person off as a casual.Apply the correct award wages that would apply to a casual employee. Then once you are confident that the job will be ongoing you can then alter the basis of employment to permanent with a reduction in the hourly rate but an increase in benefits etc.
from Award Wages 
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You must pay all staff the legally required minimum. You can elect to pay above the award (more than) but you cannot pay below it (less than). There are many different awards and you must make sure you are employing under the most appropriate category for the position in question.
