![Health Professional and Support Services Award Guide [MA000027]](https://www.workstem.com/au/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2023/07/Untitled-design-min-5.png)
Table of content
- What is the Health Professional and Support Services Award?
- Who is entitled to the Health Professional and Support Services Award?
- How are the working hours arranged in the Health Professional and Support Services Award ?
- How are wages and allowances calculated inHealth Professional and Support Services Award?
- How is the leave managed in the Health Professional and Support Services Award?
- How can Workstem assist you?
This article provides guidelines on the health professionals and support services award package. For more information on this award, please refer to the health professionals and support services award
What is the Health Professional and Support Services Award?
The Health Professional and Support Services Award, is a set of legal minimum employment standards and conditions that apply to employees working in the health industry in Australia.
The award sets out the minimum wage rates, working hours, overtime, annual leave, sick leave, and other entitlements for employees working in various roles within the health industry, such as medical receptionists, cleaners, laundry hands, and food services employees including cooks. The award is designed to ensure that employees in the health industry are treated fairly and receive reasonable pay and conditions for their work.
Who is entitled to the Health Professional and Support Services Award?
Coverage
The Health Professionals and Support Services Award covers employers and employees working in the health industry across Australia.
Examples of health professionals and support services include the delivery of:
- health care;
- medical services; and
- dental services.
The Health Professionals and Support Services Award also covers:
- on-hire employees – who are employees that are supplied to the employer’s client to work under them; and
- employers who provide group training services for apprentices and trainees engaged in the children’s services industry.
Types of employment
An employee covered by this award must be one of the following:
- A full-time employee who is engaged to work an average of 38 ordinary hours per week over a period of no more than 4 weeks.
- A part-time employee who is engaged to work less than 38 ordinary hours per week and has predictable hours.
- A casual employee who is engaged to work may be no more than 38 ordinary hours per week; or if they work according to a roster, their ordinary hours may be averaged over the roster cycle to be no more than 38 hours per week.
The Award does not generally cover
The following are examples of employers and employees that are not covered by the health professional and support services award:
- nurses who are covered by the Nurses Award
- paramedics who are covered by the Ambulance Award
- medical professionals such as doctors, GPs and surgeons.
How are the working hours arranged in the Health Professional and Support Services Award ?
Hours of Work
Ordinary hours of work under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award must not exceed:
- 38 hours per week; or
- 10 hours per day (exclusive of meal breaks).
Span of Hours – Day Workers
Ordinary hours of a day worked may be worked from Monday to Friday between 6.00 am and 6.00 pm.
| Practice | Monday to Friday Span of Hours | Saturday Hours |
|
Private Medical; Dental; Pathology; Physiotherapy; Chiropractic; and Osteopathic practices. |
Between 7.30 am and 9.00 pm | Between 8.00 am and 4.30 pm |
| Private Medical Imaging Practices – 5-day and half-day practices | Between 7.00 am and 9.00 pm | Between 8.00 am and 1.00 pm |
| Private Medical Imaging Practices – 7-day practices | Between 7.00 am and 9.00 pm | Between 7.00 am and 9.00 pm, including Sunday’s. |
Breaks
| Paid tea break | Unpaid meal break |
| 1 x 10-minute tea break after every 4 hours worked at a time. | After 5 hours, an employee is entitled to a meal break between 30 and 60 minutes. |
| Subject to agreement between the employer and employee, such breaks may be taken as one 20 minute tea break. | An employee can choose not to have their meal break if they work 6 hours or less. |
How are wages and allowances calculated inHealth Professional and Support Services Award?
Overtime rates
The table below outlines the penalty rates that employees are paid for all work done in addition to their rostered ordinary hours on different days:
| For overtime worked on | Overtime rate for full- and part-time employees (% of ordinary hourly rate) |
Overtime rate for casual employees (% of ordinary hourly rate) |
|
Monday to Saturday(first 2 hours) |
150% | 187.5% |
| Monday to Friday(after 2 hours) | 200% | 250% |
| Sunday | 200% | 250% |
| Public Holidays | 250% | 312.5% |
Rest Period After Overtime
|
Overtime rate for full- and part-time employees (% of ordinary hourly rate) |
Overtime rate for casual employees (% of ordinary hourly rate) |
| 200% | 250% |
Penalty Rates
Weekend penalty rates
| Time of ordinary hours worked | Full-time and part-time employees | Casual employees |
| % of the ordinary hourly rate
(exclusive of casual loading) |
||
| between midnight Friday and midnight Sunday | 150% | |
| Saturday and Sunday | 175% | |
Shift Work Penalty Rates
| Shift | Full-time and part-time employees | Casual employee |
| % of minimum hourly rate (exclusive of casual loading) |
||
| finishes their shift between 6.00 pm and 8.00 am | 115% | 140% |
| starts their shift between 6.00 pm and 6.00 am | 115% | 140% |
Allowance
The Health Professional and Support Services Award offers the following allowances:
|
Allowances |
Rate |
|
Apprentice training fees and textbook costs reimbursement |
reimbursement of training fees for prescribed courses and the cost of
prescribed textbooks |
|
Apprentice travel to block release training reimbursement |
reimbursement for the excess reasonable travel costs incurred in the course of travelling to and from the training |
|
Blood check allowance |
reimbursement of out of pocket expenses for a blood check |
|
Meal allowance |
$15.20 for the first meal and $13.70 for an extra meal |
|
Heat allowance |
|
|
Laundry allowance |
$0.54 per hour or part thereof with a minimum payment of $2.93 per week |
|
Nauseous work allowance – not including linen sealed in airtight containers |
$0.54 per hour or part thereof with a minimum payment of $2.93 per week |
|
Occasional interpreting allowance |
$1.19 per occasion up to a maximum of $13.77 per week |
|
On call allowance |
$23.42 per 24 hour period or part of a 24 hour period
$46.72per 24 hour period or part of a 24 hour period |
|
Special clothing reimbursement |
reimbursement for the cost of purchasing the special clothing or safety equipment |
|
Telephone allowance |
reimbursement for installation costs and rental charges on production of receipted accounts |
|
Tool allowance – chefs and cooks |
$13.11 per week |
|
Travel allowance |
reimbursement for fares, meals and accommodation |
|
Uniform allowance |
$1.23 per shift or part thereof up to a maximum of $6.24 per week |
|
Vehicle allowance |
$0.96 per km |
How is the leave managed in the Health Professional and Support Services Award?
In the health professionals and support services award, leave entitlements for employees are determined by the National Employment Standards (NES) and the classification of the employee.
Annual leave
All annual leave is per the National Employment Standards NES. Employees are entitled to 4 weeks paid leave per year, plus an additional week for some shift workers.
Payment for Annual Leave Loading
Under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award, a rate of 17.5% leave loading on top of their annual leave is applied when an employee takes paid time off.
Employees must be paid the higher of:
- An annual leave loading of 17.5% of their ordinary pay rate; or
- The weekend and shift penalties the employee would have received if they weren’t on leave during that period.
Public holidays
The National Employment Standards (NES) provide entitlements for public holidays.
- According to the NES, all employees are entitled to a paid day off on a public holiday (or unpaid for casual employees), except where reasonably expected to work.
- Under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award, any employee required to work on a public holiday will be paid 250% of the minimum hourly rate applicable to their classification.
How can Workstem assist you?
Workstem is a one-stop payroll & HR platform with an award interpretation module and customised attendance formulas that ensure aged cared employers stay compliant with Fair Work regulations. The platform simplifies HR processes, reduces administrative burdens, and offers a user-friendly interface for small businesses and large enterprises alike.
Experience the benefits of Workstem for yourself!
