August 1999 Volume 80 Number 8 "serving the protectors"
Industrial Front
By Mark Carroll  markcarroll@pasa.asn.au  Assistant Secretary

Allowance in Lieu of Penalty Payments

At the time of writing (14.7.99), the Police Association’s working party -relative to an allowance in lieu of penalty payments - has endorsed the most recent offer by SAPOL relative to this issue, and determined that the offer be placed before the relevant members for voting purposes.

The offer consists of:

• 18.5% of base salary which is paid fortnightly in lieu of penalty payments provided via Clauses 10 and 11 of the Police Officers Award.
  
  
• The allowance is EXCLUSIVE of penalty payments for work on public holidays and overtime. Current award conditions will continue to apply.
  
  
• Where an employee AGREES, RDOs from one pay period may be deferred into the next pay period. This effectively permits rostered RDOs from one fourteen-day pay period to be deferred into the next pay period when insufficient days remain for all rostered RDOs to be taken in the current pay period. SAPOL and PASA require particular attention to be given to health, safety and welfare aspects associated with working on an excessive number of consecutive days when the deferment of RDOs is being contemplated. All rosters shall continue to provide four RDOs in each pay period.
  
  
• The allowance will not be paid on any day that an officer is absent on sick leave.
  
  
• The allowance will not be paid on any day that an officer is absent on long service leave or other unpaid leave.
  
  
• The allowance will continue while an officer is absent on the following paid leave entitlements: child care and urgent pressing necessity, bereavement, family carers and paid maternity leave.
  
  
• The allowance will continue during periods when an officer is absent on accrued time off in lieu of overtime regardless of the day or shift that had been rostered.
  
  
• The allowance will continue while an officer is attending as a police witness in court.
  
  
• The allowance will continue while an officer leaves an area temporarily to attend training commitments providing the officer returns to an area where the allowance is applicable at the completion of the training.
  
  
• The allowance will continue while an officer is on a PDO.
  
  
• An officer seconded or transferred from a shiftwork roster to an area where the allowance is applicable and where he or she is required to work shifts will change over to the allowance on the day the transfer or secondment commences and his or her shiftwork status will continue for annual leave loading purposes.

All officers who are required to work shifts and attached to the following branches, sections and units are those to whom the allowance is payable:

• Special Task Forces (Crime).
• Victims of Crime Branch.
• Sexual Assault Section.
• Child Exploitation Investigation Section.
• Major Crime Investigation Branch
• Coronial Investigations Section.
• Missing Persons Section.
• Drug and Organised Crime Investigation Branch.
• Serious Fraud Investigations Branch.
• Investigations Support Branch.
• Police Technical Section.
• Confiscation of Profits Section.
• Witness Protection Section.
• Telecommunications Interception Section.
• Forensic Services Branch.
• Physical Evidence Section.
• Photographic Section.
• Surveillance Section.
• Fingerprint Bureau.
• State Intelligence Branch.
• Intelligence Analysis Section.
• Intelligence Support Section.
• Local Service Area Intelligence Sections and Investigation Sections and associated units including Crime Response, Crime Scene, Second Hand Dealers, Priority Crime Enquiries, Family Violence Units, Victim Service and Tactical Operations.
• Anti Corruption Branch.
• Internal Investigation Branch.

The following sections are EXCLUDED:

• Covert Investigation Section.
• Clause 14 Country Investigation Sections.

Required to work shifts means that the person is allocated to an approved indicative roster, which requires the person to work on day, afternoon or night shifts rotating on any two or three of such shifts.

The person does not have to be relieved by another person or group of persons who carry on work of the same nature for the succeeding shift as is the case when defining a person as a shiftworker for other purposes of the Police Officers Award. SAPOL’s test will be that the person is regularly required to work shifts and/or weekends. The regularity will be determined by the need for there to be a roster for the person or group of people to achieve the objectives of the branch, section or unit. The decision on whether a particular person is required to work shifts is the responsibility of the local manager as currently applies.

The allowance will be introduced for a trial period of 12 months. Either party (PASA or SAPOL) has the option of reverting to the Police Officers Award provisions with two months’ notice or at the completion of the trial.

SAPOL requires officers in receipt of the allowance to participate in flexible rostering with varied patterns of work, however, predictable patterns of work will be maintained where practicable.

Indicative rostering will limit the maximum number of pm shifts worked to an average of one third of the roster cycle and weekend days worked to two thirds of the roster cycle. Operational circumstances may require individual officers to work in excess of these limits.

The safeguard to employees aggrieved by the number of pm shifts and/or weekends being worked where the matter cannot be resolved at the local level will incorporate meetings between the respective assistant commissioners and officers-in-charge of the area concerned, the Employee Relations Branch manager and a PASA representative.

Members of the areas listed will receive a ballot to vote either for or against the offer. A result of 50 per cent plus one will determine the outcome of the ballot.

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