Local Government (COVID-19) Splinter (Interim) Award
The Local Government (COVID-19) Splinter (Interim) Award 2020 (“2020 Award”) will expire on 8 April 2021.
The 2020 Award was made as an “interim” award, has a maximum term of 12 months and, in accordance with the Industrial Relations Act, can’t be extended. If the sector wants to be covered by similar arrangements after 8 April 2021 it will require the making of an entirely new Splinter Award (a “2021 Award”) and going back to members to give them the option to “opt-in” to be covered by the 2021 Award (like we did in 2020).
Local Government unions are generally supportive of the idea of making a new 2021 Award. However, they’ve also indicated that if a new Splinter Award were to be made they’d expect the following:
- Employees to receive a fresh entitlement to four weeks Paid COVID-19 Special Leave under the 2021 Award (employers would not be able to absorb any Paid COVID-19 Special Leave granted to employees under the 2020 Award); and
- The rate of the Job Retention Allowance, which is based on the Band 1 / Level 2 rate of pay under the Local Government (State) Award 2017, would need to reflect the Band 1 / Level 2 rate of pay under the Local Government (State) Award 2020. LGNSW assumes this won’t be issue because the definitions of “Job Retention Allowance” and “LG (State) Award” under the 2020 Award already indicate that references to the Local Government (State) Award 2017, include “… any award that succeeds the Local Government (State) Award 2017”.
LGNSW is interested in your views on:
- whether to make a new Splinter Award,
- the unions’ above requests/expectations, and
- whether LGNSW should try to include an additional provision increasing employers’ ability to require staff to reduce their existing accrued leave balances before becoming eligible to access Paid COVID-19 Special Leave.
Please email Adam Dansie, LGNSW’s Senior Manager Workplace Relations, with your views.
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