What Is An Award?

You can watch our video tutorial below:


An award is the core employment payment arrangements between employer and employee. Wagemaster allows you to set up a series of award files to cover all employees in your farm business. These payment conditions may derive from an agreement between the employer and the employee, or from an industrial award for example. Whatever the source, the pay calculation factors for conditions such as overtime, normal time, leave, shift work, meal breaks, public holidays, rostered days off (RDO's) and superannuation.

The award does not include the employee's actual pay rate.

If your staff have the same number of hours/days worked, overtime, public holidays, leave (annual, long service & sick) and superannuation, they are all on the same award.
If any of these conditions vary, then a separate award is required.

When hours are entered onto a timesheet for an employee, Wagemaster uses the employee’s attached award to make the necessary calculations and produce a pay slip. Therefore, it is important that the awards are set up correctly before attaching the employees.

Types of award

It is important to understand the difference between the award categories as the various entitlements are different for each. You may have full-time employees, part-time employees or casual/seasonal employees. Below are the different types of employment conditions and various entitlements:

Salary

• Permanent staff who are on an annual salary and receive the same amount each pay period, irrespective of hours actually worked.
• Very rarely entitled to overtime or loadings.
• Accrue annual, sick and long service leave.

Full-time

• Permanent employees who are paid an hourly rate.
• In most cases, entitled to overtime when they work over their contracted hours.
• In most cases, receive an additional loading for working on a weekend.
• Are entitled to accrue annual, long service and sick leave.
• Are usually contracted to work 38 or 40 hrs per week.

Part-time

• Permanent staff who work less than 38 hours per week.
• Often entitled to day loadings and overtime.
• In some cases work contracted hours and on specific days.
• Accrue annual, sick and long service leave on a pro rata basis for the hours worked only.

Casual

• Rotational employees who tend to work various hours each pay period.
• Often paid a loading on top of their base pay rate for each hour worked.
• Not generally entitled to overtime or some leave entitlements may accrue long service leave.

Continue to Award Templates