Notices to Members (cont P20

Notices to Members

Pandemic leave added to Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award

The Plumbing and Fire Sprinklers Award 2020 has been varied to include Schedule X – Additional Measures During the Covid - 19 Pandemic. This provides for unpaid pandemic leave and annual leave at half pay, allowing employees to stay employed when they must isolate. Full details of the Award are on the Fair Work Commission website.

If you have any questions about this change to the Award, we recommend you contact Pragma Lawyers. They are now providing our free industrial relations advice service for members and you can reach them on hello@pragma.law or (08) 6189 1125.

Awards for Excellence Postponed

We were going to hold our Awards for Excellence presentation night in November. After considering the unpredictability and speed with which COVID-19 outbreaks and restrictions are occurring, the Executive Committee has made the difficult decision to postpone it until next year. An event such as the Awards for Excellence involves booking the venue and catering months in advance and paying large deposits. Keeping the November date would have meant an unacceptable financial risk. Postponing until next year, when the rollout of vaccines will be further advanced, is a safe option.

Is your licence renewal coming up? Apply early for your police check

If your licence renewal is coming up, you need to apply early for your National Police Certificate. The National Police Checking Service is experiencing a high level of requests. Due to factors beyond their control, there are delays in processing them. Submitting multiple applications will not help you. It will simply add more congestion to the system. For more information, see www.police.wa.gov.au/police-direct/ national-police-certificates

Asbestos awareness guide

A comprehensive new asbestos awareness guide is now available for you to download. It has information about where you might find asbestos, laws that relate to asbestos management and removal, and how to protect yourself and others from exposure to harmful asbestos fibres. The guide is the result of collaboration between the Australian Government’s Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency and Master Plumbers Australia and New Zealand.

To get your copy, go to www.asbestossafety.gov.au then click on ‘Find out about asbestos’, then ‘Asbestos in the workplace’. If you’d like a handy direct link to the guide, log into the members’ area of our website, then go to the Asbestos page in the resources section.

July’s super increase raises a big question for employers

We want to remind all members that the superannuation guarantee increased to 10 per cent at the start of July and will increase by half a per cent each financial year until reaching 12 per cent. An important question for employers is whether it is legal to take the increase out of an employee’s take-home pay. This question arises when an employee’s contract says their total package includes superannuation. Pragma Lawyers (who provide members with free industrial relation advice) advise that employers should review current pay structures. If you are considering reducing your employees’ take-home pay, seek advice and have a plan for how you will tell them about it. Another change, which will start in November, is the ‘stapling’ of superannuation funds to employees’ super accounts. This change aims to reduce the number of employees who have multiple small super accounts with small balances. There is an easy to read article called ‘Super changes from July 1’ in the knowledge section of the Pragma Lawyers website at www. pragma.law or, for more detailed information, see the Australian Taxation Office website.

Free industrial relations advice

As a member of the Association, you can get free industrial relations advice and we have recently appointed Pragma Lawyers to provide it. It is a telephone advice service that gives you unlimited access to advice on industrial relations matters such as:

• minimum pay rates • award queries • terminations

• employment contracts • wage sheets • template position descriptions • performance management To use this service contact Pragma Lawyers on mpga@pragma. law or their dedicated Master Plumbers WA industrial relations number (08) 6189 1125.

For all other legal matters, Pragma Lawyers provide members with a 15-minute free telephone consultation.