Hi Gail
I presume you are talking about the NSW Office of Industrial Relations?
When WorkChoices was introduced in March 2006, a lot of employers who were previously in the state system (i.e. covered by state awards and relevant
IR legislation) were forced into the federal system if they were constitutional corporations (I'll call these WorkChoices employers). At this time, for WorkChoices employers, the award was "frozen" and became a NAPSA (Notional Agreement Preserving a State Award). The pay rates were taken out of the NAPSA and put into a Pay Scale. Conditions in the NAPSA can't be changed, but the pay rates are reviewed and adjusted by the Australian Fair Pay Commission (AFPC).
For those employers not covered by WorkChoices, the state award remains in place. The pay rates are reviewed and adjusted by the state
IR commission.
If you are a WorkChoices employer, most of the information on the OIR website will NOT apply to you. For pay rates, you will need to look at the Pay Scales on the WorkChoices website.
The awards on the OIR website will reflect pay increases handed down by the state IRC. The Pay Scales reflect increases handed down by the AFPC. That is why the pay rates on the two websites are different. They started from the same "base" in March 2006, but generally the state increases have been higher.
If you are a state system employer (i.e. not a WorkChoices employer), the 5 and 8 days of sick leave will still apply if that's what is in the award.
Under WorkChoices, the Australian Fair Pay and Conditions Standard prescribes a minimum of 10 days "personal leave" (sick leave and carer's leave) for each year. Unless there is a workplace agreement in place (e.g. an EBA), the Standard will over-ride the NAPSA and WorkChoices employers are obliged to provide 10 days per year. If there is a workplace agreement in place from before WorkChoices, the 10 days personal leave will apply from when the agreement is renegotiated.
Hope this helps.
Conditions of Employment and Awards
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