Outworkers work at any place that isn’t a typical business premises. For example, their home, an attached garage, someone else’s home or any place that isn’t a typical business premises.

Contract outworkers in the textile, clothing and footwear (TCF) industry have the same minimum entitlements as employee outworkers in the industry.

The minimum entitlements for most TCF contract outworkers come from the National Employment Standards (NES) and the Textile and Clothing Award. Schedule F of the Textile and Clothing Award sets out a contract outworker’s entitlements. Outworkers have to be given an information sheet setting out all these entitlements when they start work.

Contract outworkers enter an arrangement with a principal to perform work. A principal must be registered by a Board of Reference before making any arrangement with an outworker.

What are an outworker’s entitlements?

Hours of work

Full-time outworkers are entitled to 38 hours of work a week.

Part-time outworkers are entitled to at least 15 hours of work a week.

Part-time hours need to be agreed between the principal and the outworker. These hours can be reduced to 10 hours a week if the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Union of Australia and Australian Workers Union (if in Queensland) agree.

A prior written agreement between the principal and outworker is required for work on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays.

Pay rate

Full-time and part-time outworkers get paid for all hours they’ve agreed to work with their principal.

Outworkers are paid an ordinary minute rate. They get 1/2280 of the relevant weekly rate for each minute of work.

Outworkers can't be paid less than the hourly rates in the Textile and Clothing Award.

They also get the following loadings for working overtime:

• Saturday - 200%
• Sunday - 200%
• Public holiday - 200%
• Each minute worked in excess of 38 hours or their agreed hours of work – 150%.

These rates are applied to an outworker’s ordinary minute rate.

Payment of wages

Outworkers need to be paid within 2 working days of the end of the working week.

Providing materials

The principal needs to provide all materials, trimming and sewing threads that are required for an outworker to do their work. These need to be delivered to, and collected from, the outworker at no cost to the outworker.

Leave entitlements

Outworkers are entitled to annual leave and sick leave from the National Employment Standards.

Allowances

Outworkers get all applicable allowances in the Textile and Clothing Award except for the:

• dining room allowance
• meal allowance
• rest room allowance
• tool allowance.