Australian Council of Trade Unions - Queensland Branch and The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland v Queensland Confederation of Industry Limited, Union of Employers and Others [1995] QIRC 187 (1995) 149 QGIG 599

Q UEENS L AND GOVERNMENT INDUSTRlAL GAZETTE 59.~s ____.=____________________ [23 June, 1995 23 June, 1995] QUEENSLAND GOVE RNM ENT INDUSTRI AL GAZETTE 599 ###################################-###########/1/I####### QUF ENS I AND IND US TR IA L RELAT IONS CO MMISSION Indu strial R el111io11s Act 199() s. 144 ( J) a pp lication to vary award Australian Council of Trade Unions Queensland Branch AND Queens land Confederat ion o f l 11d ustry li1nitcd . Union of Employers and Others (J\ "o 856() of 199./J The Auslr:ilian Worker s' Union of Fmplorec~. Queensland AND Queensland Confederation of lndu Str) l.1mi1ed . Union o f Empl oyers and Others (.\''o. 86-16 of 199./) C HI FF IND US TRIAL COMMIS<;JQNER IIAI.L CO \11\!I SSION l:RS ED\\. ARDS A ' D Fl~IIF.R 9 June I 995 Appltlc1tioo for Special 1-a mil) I eave - l ~e o f 0\ crt1mc - Pm aq - Care of Former fos ter Children Application Granted. Dl:C'I SIOl\ At the conclusion of the he. ir ing of these ma tt ers we illllicatcd that \\C were d,~posed to grant su bs1an11ally the relief ult1111a tel) sought by AustrJlian Council of Trade l tn1ons - Queensland llranch (AC' I UQl and The Australian Workers' Union of Employees, Queensland (A \\' U). We took 1hm cour,-c bccau-:e the panics were agreed that the) \\0uld require some period of 1im c 10 acquaint their members with th e le nn s and sig nifican ce of the proposed variat ion and hccause \\ C \\Cre told that the proposed date of operation. I Jui} 199 5 could be met onl} if commencement of the procc ~s \\a, prompt. Our reluctan ce 10 grant the relief sought, which re li ef we should ~ay \\ as not opposed. arose ou t of co ncems "hich had c1risen "ith respect to secuons 1.2. I 3(iii)(b) and 4 of the proposed vana11011. Sccuon 1.2 1s m the following 1errns:- ·The employee shall, if required. c~ tablish b} production of a medica l cem licate or ~Httutol') declaration. the illness of 1he per.;un con ccm cd:·. The problem :irise~ from 1hc panic1ple ··the·· "here ii appears before "'illne s~••. The section ma) he construed to require a medica l cen ificatc or s1all 1t ory dct·laration go ing 10 the fac:t o f illness. II ma) also be construed to require disclosure uf the nature of the illness The fonner COnl;truc 1i on accords "" h the outcome "h1ch the Applicant~ seek 10 p ut into place. It 1s an ou tco me which is no t opposed and which promotes privacy. We propose 10 dl.!letc the \\Ords ·1he illness of the person concerned'" and to substitute the \\Ords ..,h at the person concerned was i1 r· The cri tici~rn of s. I J(iii)(b) is that it 1s said to cAcludc foster children from the ••imm ed iate family" fo r the purposes of the Award. Secritm I .3(iii) bin the following 1erms:- ··1he tcnns (sic ) ••immediate famil) " includes :- (a) (b) 3 spou~c (including a fonni:r spouse . a de facto ~pou,;c and a fo rmer de facto spouse) of the employee; and an adult chi ld (includini an adopted child. a st ep child o r an ex nuptial child), pare nt, grandparent, grandcluld or s ibl ing of thc emp loyee or s pouse of the emplo)ee:·. ·n1 c defin ition is e, clu;.ive not exhaustive. Paragraph (b) relat es to adult children We arc not satisfied 1ha1 persons exist "ho are adult and foster child ren There was. ho \\ cvc r, no objection to 1hc ind usion of former fo ster children within the '• immediate fam il y" . We shall insert ··an e,-foster child •• immediate)) before ··a sti:p child'', '.\1r Muir. "ho appeared for Queensland Confedera ti on of lndustl') Limited, Union of Emplo)'ers submitted (hereafter QC I) that on it s proper construc ti on s. 4 au thorised th e taking of time off in lieu of o, enime fo r purposes unrelated to th e care and support of an 1mmcdia1c fam 1I:,, member in re spect of "horn the emplo}ce has respon si bi lities. If the matter were mere ly one of co nstruction we \,ould deal \,ith 11 in a percmptOr) way . II i;. not an outcome which the appltcan1, ,eek . QCl' s re sponse docs 11 01 see J.. Jhemali\c relief. Ho \, cvc r. the case made hy the npplican1s· 1h rou i;hou1 has hccn thai consis tcncJ- " ith deci sions of the Australian Industrial Rclatiom C-omm1,sion (AI RC) d ea ling \,tth the mailer of IJmil) lca\C \,;11 en han ce in dus trial hannony particularly where federal av.nrds and Ouccn~land awards operate in a single workplace or estab li~ hment II is '.\ir Muir ~ submis,ion !hat , . 4. "hi ch replicates the orders o f the AIRC. wa s intended by the Australian Comm ission to have the enect \\'hich he attributes 10 it. With respcc1 to Mr Mui r. who has argued his case \\ 11.h some skill. \\C con,ide r that the passage upon which he relic~ - Re Laundry Industry (l'ic toria) Interim , /ward 1993 and Oth er A i,•ards. l'rinl I 9048 at 7 10 8 pe r Ros.~ VP - is d irected to the proposi11011 that \\he reas sick lca\e ma} be u,;ed to pro,,1dc care ;111d s upport fo r immed iate family members who arc ill, time off in lieu of overtime may be u sed 10 perm it the core and ,upport of an imm.:diatc fam il } member \\h o requires it but \\ho is not ill. e.g. a child arrested fo r breaking and e111eri11g. In an) event we arc 1101 di~po,ed 10 in dfoct grant a s ubs tantial claim of whi ch other panics ha\ e had inadequate notice and for \\h 1ch no c~e o ther than comity \\tth the Austral ian Comm1,,1on has been advanced. We will limit ~.4 to th e discharge of rcs ponsihiliti es to persons described at s I 3 We propose to add also a nC\\ s 4 4 as follo\\s:- ··T hi s sec ti on does 1101 limit or de tract fr om an) provis ion in an a,\ard or tnd ustrial agreement dealing with lime ofT in lieu of o,enimc "hich exbtcd on or hcfore 23 \ fay 1995 ". The clause mcetS leg itimate apprehensions that. becau se 1he , anauon will nu\\ \\ uhout scruttn) into all awards and indu~trial ag r~e mcnts \Vh ieh adopt the Parental Lcnve Award - Stnte, an umntcndcd dim111ut ion of existing entitlemen ts 1113) result from grant c>f the Applicauc>ns. 15 -1 36 I DOC -- 1 of 2 -- 600 QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT INDUS TRIA L GAZETTE l23 Jun e, 1995 During 1h e de liberations on the fonn of the variation the Commission de,eloped a concern that several expressions ma) be more appropriate ly recast. given that consent was predicated on mirroring the federal order it was decided to alto"' the panics the opportunity to address thc issues raised by the Commission. A letter dated 26 May 1995 was forwarded to parties re gi:, tenn g an appearance in the proceedings outlining the issues and advising of a conference on 31 May 1995 for the purpose of hearing the p arties· attitudes. Generali)' the parties were opposed to any departure from th.: federal order. Further. it was suggested that such issues might be beucr addressed inn revic" scheduled to follow the AIRC's Rev1e" of the Family Leave Test Case Decision in August 1995. Having con:,idcrcd the responses of the parties "e ha,e decided to not inco rporate the amendments sugg ested in the leuer of 26 Ma) 1995 We ha,e also decided to schedule a re ,icw 10 follow the decision from the AIRC 's Review scheduled for August 1995. T11e va ri ations to the Parental Leave Award - tale operate from I July 1995. We have of course departed from the section numbers in the application to accommodate the existing numbering. We order that Parental Leave A"ard - State be varied as follows :- !. In ' 'Arrangement of Award" by adding a new Part 3 a,, follows between Pan 2 and the Schedule to the Award. " Part J - S ~ d •I RH1>0n5lbilit) L~•'"' U5C of Sick Leave l) np31d Leave for Caring Purposes Annual Leave . r,me Offm Lieu of Pa)men1 for Ovenunc Mal.c Up T,me .. Grievance Process Clause No I 2 ) 4 5 6" 2. B) inserting a new Part 3 to the A"ard titled ..Special Respo nsibility Leave" as fo llows :- "PART 3 - SPECIAi. RES PON SIB ILITY LE ,'\ \'E 3.1 Lise of S ick Leave (I) An employee with re~pon~ibilities m relation to either members of their immediate fanuly or member~ of their household "ho need their care and suppon sh all be entitled to use. 111 accordance with this :, ubcluuse, any sick leave entitlement "hich accrues after the date of this ord er for abse nces to provide care and support for such persons "hen th e> a.re 111. (2) The employee shall, if requ ired, establish b> production of a medical certificate or statutory declaration that the person concerned is il l. (3) The enti tlement to use sick leave in 11ccordancc with thb subclau e is ~object 10 .- (a) the employee being re pons1blc for the care of the person concerned; and (b) the person concerned being either .· (i) a member of the emplo)'ee 's immediate fomil~ , or (ii) a member of the employee 's household. (c) the tcnn 'immediate family' include~ :- (i) a spou)e (including a fonner spouse. a de facto spouse and a fonner de tacto spouse ) of the: cmplO} ee: and (ii) an adult child (including an adopted child. an ex -foster child. a step child or an ex nuptia l child), pa rent, grondparenl, grandchild or s1bhng of the employee or spouse of the employee (4) The employee shall. wherever practicable. ghe the emplo}er notice prior 10 the absence of the intention to take leave, the name of the person requiring care and their relationship 10 the employee. llu.: n:u~ons for 111king such leave and the c~timatcd length of ab~ence. If II is not pracucable for the emplo)ec to give prior notice of absence. the employee sha ll notify the empl0)Cr b)' telephone of such ab sence at the first opponunity on the da) of abse nce. J .2 Unpaid LtaH fo r Ca ri ng Pu rp ose5 ( I) An employee ma) elect. ,~ith the consent of the emplo}cr. 10 take unpaid leave for the purpose o f providing care to a family member >Aho is ill. J .3 An n ual Lea ve ( I ) otwithstanding the provision of thi s d,iuse. a11 employee ma} elect. "ith the consent of the emplo) er. 10 take onnual leave not exceeding five days in any ca lendar year at a time or times agreed between the parties (2) Access 10 annual leave. as prescribed in paragraph 3.3( I) above. shall be exclusive of any shutdown period provided for elsewhere under 1h1s Award. (3) An cmplo)eC and employer may ag ree 10 defer payment o1 the annual leave loading 111 respect of single da) absence:.. until at least 5 co nsecutive annual leave da>s are taken. J A Ti me Off in Lieu of Pay men t fo r O ve rt imc ( I) An employee may elect. "ith the consent of the emplo> er. to take time off in li eu of payment for ovenimc at a umc or times agreed with the employer to discharge a re ponsib1lit) to care fo r or support a person wi thin paragraph 3 1(3) \,h cther :.ick or not (2) Overtime taken as time off during ordinary 11me hours shall be taken at the ordinary time rate. that is an hour for each hour worked. (3) An employer shall, if 1equcs1cd by an employee, provide payment. at the rate pro, idcd for the pa) ment of o, ertirne in the award. for any ovenime worked under pa ragrnph 3.4l I) of this ~ubclausc ,,here :,uch time has not been rnl.en \\1thin four weeks of accrual and requested by the employee. (4) This section does not lim11 or detract from any provision in an award or in dustrial agreement dealing ,, ith 11me o ff in lieu of o,ertime which existed on or before 23 Ma) 1995. 3 .5 Make up Time ( I) An employee may elect, with the co1hc111 of their employer. to work ·make -up time·. under "hich the emplo)ee ta k es time off ord inary hours. and works those hours al a later time , during the spread of ordinary hours provided in the parent award, at onlmary rates. 154 36_1 DOC 23 June, 1995.J Q UEENSLA ND GOVERNM ENT lNDUSTR IAL G AZETTE 601 3.6 Grie,·an cu Pr ocess (I ) In the e,ent of an) d' • . . ispute ansmg Ill connection with an part ot this ~lause. such a dispute shall be processed i~ accordd'.'."cc "llh the d1spu1e settling provisions of the parent a,var . . ~Ve further order tl1at Parenldl Le.i,e Award - Stal be • Family Leave A . d e renamed Le:ive A\\ard :var . - State and tlwt an}' reference to Parental - ate 111 an) a,\ard , industrial agreement or • note be rea d u~ a n: fert:nce lo Family Leave Award - State. practice Dated th is ninth da y of Ju ne. 19 95 . D.R. HALL. Chief lndu tr ial Commissione r. K I;. E_DWARDS, Industrial Cormmssioncr. G.K. H HER, Industrial Cornmi:,~iom:r. Appearances :- Ms K. Steenstrup for the Australian C ·1 (Queensland Branch) and amhared unions. ounc1 of Trade Unions Mr D D'Arcy and later Mr M v· • r, Th Union ot·E·· I • u11 ng or c Austra lian Workers· mp O) ees, Queensland Mr C. Barrett fo r the Australian Li uor • • Misce llaneous Wo rkers U . Q q • Hosp1taht) and fmplO)c:es. • nion. ueens land Branch, Union of :\Is C. Ciucrin and "ith her Mr Johnstone for the Crown . Mr T.J. Butler for the M I ·r · eta rad es Industry Assoc iation or Aus1raha. Queensland Branch, Union of Emplo)crs. M~ K. Jackson and later Mr Muir fo r Th Q • • of Industry L imi ted, Union of Employers~ ueensland Conlcdcra11on Mr J. Hard) for th~ various mcm!,crs of Austrara M' As~1>eiation . 1 n mes and ~lctals Mr C.R. Chadwic l.. for the R v· I Q /\u )tralian Dental . . o, a uecns land Uowls Assoc ia11on; E A;.-.ociauon (Queensland Oranch) u • r mploycrs and Master Puinters. Decorators and s· mon_ o Aswc1at1on of Queensland. Union of Emplo)'ers. ignwr11crs Mr G. ·1rost for lhe Queensland Cane Growe ' , • • •• E111p lovcrs and tl Q rs Assocm11on Union of : ie ueensland Mechanical Cane H AsM>ciallon . Union of bnploycrs . an esters Mr C W Witt for A I C H • . •d E gee arc Queensland Incorporated, Nursing omes an Mended Care As~oci:iuon of Queensland In corporated \,I<, J ff • imstedt for the Phannacy Guild (Queensland Branch). "1r I'. Par;ons fo r Austa Ucctric. l\1r r. McCr) stal for Queensland I Corporation. rammission :ind Supply 1\1s s_. _Wilde for Queensland AIDS A Council :md Queensland ssoc 1at1 on of Goy and Lcsb ian Ri ghts. Mr R. Bamber fo r the Re t' ·1 • A • • l ' nion f '- I a1 ers ssoc1a11on of Queensland Limited o r.mp O) ers. • Mr L. Kerrigan for the Bri sb an..: City Counc il. Mr C Ketter for th Sh o· . . . c op, 1stnbuuve and Alli~d I: 1 A~soc1a1 ion (Queensland Branch) U • f E • .rnp O) ees lliOll 0 mplO)Ces. Date of Operation: I July 1995 Decision - Special Responsibi li ty I.eave Re leased: 9 June 1995 #######/#1###################1#1######################### I 5436_ I.DOC -- 2 of 2 --