Ai Group is currently representing members’ interests in the review of the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (SCHADS Award), part of the Fair Work Commission’s four-yearly review of modern awards.

A number of substantive claims are being pursued by various unions to vary the terms of the SCHADS Award, including:

• claims by the Australian Services Union for payment of an allowance and/or penalty rate to employees who work a broken shift and payment of an allowance to employees who use community language skills during the course of their employment;
• claims by United Voice to limit the maximum amount of shifts worked in broken shifts to two; and changes to the overtime provisions of the Award so that full-time and part-time employees would be entitled to overtime for all hours done in addition to their rostered ordinary hours and casual employees would be entitled to overtime for hours done beyond the first eight hours of each day; and
• claims by the Health Services Union to provide that broken shifts are only worked by agreement and amendments to the telephone allowance and uniform provisions of the Award.

 Ai Group is currently representing employers’ interests against the unions’ claims and are making submissions to the Fair Work Commission regarding proposed amendments to the SCHADS Award.