Employees under the Waste Award are engaged in shiftwork if their workplace operates a shift roster that:

• runs for at least 5 consecutive days
• has afternoon or night shifts
• has shifts performed during the same period daily or on a regular rotating basis.

An employee can be a shiftworker even if they’re not rostered over 5 consecutive days.

Afternoon or night shifts are worked if the ordinary hours of work finish:

• afternoon shift – after 6.:30 pm but not later than 12:30 am
• night shift – after 12:30 am and at or before 8:30 am.

Example of shiftwork

Elaia is a part-time driver covered by the Waste Award.

Her employer runs a shift roster that extends for 6 consecutive days.

Elaia works a night shift from 11:30 pm to 7:30 am on 4 nights a week.

She meets the definition of a shiftworker because:

• her employer is operating a shift roster that runs for at least 5 consecutive days
• she is working on a night shift
• the shifts are performed during the same period daily.

Shiftwork and overtime

Work that isn’t shiftwork or performed outside of the ordinary hours (4 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday) is overtime.

A shiftworker must be paid overtime instead of the shift rate if any of the following apply:

• there’s less than 48 hours notice of the shift
• the shift does not meet the shiftwork requirements
• shiftwork is performed outside the ordinary hours of work for that shift
• the employee works for longer than 8 hours on the shift.

Example of overtime

Jamali is an afternoon shiftworker. The ordinary hours of work for the afternoon shift are 3:30 pm - 11:30 pm. The afternoon shift rate is 117.5% of the ordinary hourly rate.

On Tuesday Jamali is asked to work for longer because his employer is shorthanded. He doesn’t finish until 1:30am.

Jamali is paid overtime of 150% of the ordinary hourly rate for the period 11:30 pm - 1:30 am because he:

• performed work outside the ordinary hours of work
• worked for longer than 8 hours on the shift.

The overtime rate is paid instead of the afternoon shift rate for the overtime worked.

Overtime for casuals has different requirements, see Overtime for casuals in the Waste Award for more information.