• Section 1 - Purpose
• Section 2 - Scope
• Section 3 - Work Hours
• Staff Excluding Casual Staff
• Casual Staff (Academic and Professional)
• Section 4 - Flexible Time, Overtime, Time Off in Lieu and Shift Penalty Rates for Professional Staff
• Flexible Time
• Overtime
• Time Off in Lieu (TOIL)
• On-call arrangements
• Section 5 - Roles and Responsibilities
• Section 6 - Definitions

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This Procedure sets out the University of Wollongong’s (the University’s) provisions on a range of employment conditions and their application.

Section 2 - Scope

(2) This Procedure applies to all staff of the University.

(3) This Procedure does not apply to:

1. honorary and visiting academics;
2. staff at campuses of the University outside Australia; and 
3. staff employed by other entities controlled by the University. 

(4) This Procedure supports and should be read in conjunction with the Employment Life Cycle Policy and the requirements as set out in the relevant enterprise agreements.

Section 3 - Work Hours

Staff Excluding Casual Staff

(5) The requirements of this section apply only to recording hours worked within each staff member’s normal working hours.

(6) Professional staff in positions up to level 6/7, cadets, trainees and apprentices must record their hours worked, including start, finish and break times.

(7) A Supervisor will:

1. review and approve the work hours records submitted to them in a timely fashion; and
2. consult with the staff member where there is an error in the work hours recorded and have them corrected.

Casual Staff (Academic and Professional)

Casual Academic Staff Work Hours

(8) Academic casual staff can record and expect payment for hours spent performing duties specified by clause 22 of the academic staff enterprise agreement.

(9) Casual academic staff will be allocated two (2) hours per session paid at the ancillary rate to attend meetings and/or maintain up-to-date knowledge of policies and procedures. The two (2) hours per session will be applicable to all casual engagements within a Faculty, not per engagement. Any additional ancillary hours will be approved as per clause 22.8.2 of the University of Wollongong (Academic Staff) Enterprise Agreement, 2023.

Casual Professional Staff Work Hours

(10) Casual professional staff will not be required to work more than 10 hours in any day or 70 hours in any fortnightly pay period and thus will not work overtime (University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023, clause 26.6).

(11) The minimum period that a casual professional staff member will be engaged to work is three (3) consecutive hours, except where:

1. they are a student who is expected to be at the University that day for their studies; or
2. they are a staff member who has another primary occupation elsewhere or in the University, in these cases, the minimum is reduced to one (1) hour; or
3. the staff member requests, and the University agrees, to a shorter period of time due to personal circumstances (University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023, clause 26.5.1).

Casual Staff Timesheets

(12) Casual staff will record their hours worked and submit the record of these to their Supervisor for payment.

(13) A Supervisor will:

1. review and approve the work hours records submitted to them inline with approval timeframes; and
2. consult with the staff member where there is an error in the work hours recorded and have them corrected.

(14) A casual academic staff member will be paid within 22 days of submitting a valid time sheet for the work (Academic staff enterprise agreement, clause 22.11).

Travel Time

(15) Staff members required to travel on University business should follow the University’s Travel and Entertainment Policy and the Travel Policy in Relation to Motor Vehicle Use.

(16) Travel time comprises:

1. time spent travelling or driving for a University business purpose (and not for any additional travel on a staff member’s personal business during a trip to conduct University business);
2. reasonable meal breaks during travel; and
3. time spent waiting for transport when the staff member is unable to conduct their own personal or leisure activities.

(17) Travel time does not include:

1. time the staff member normally takes to travel between their home and their primary location of work;
2. periods of travel less than 30 minutes on a day; or
3. time beyond that which would be taken to reach a destination by the most direct route and most economical means of transport available to the staff member.

(18) For academic staff, payment for travel time will be as per clause 35 of the University of Wollongong (Academic Staff) Enterprise Agreement, 2023.

(19) For professional staff, time spent travelling on University business outside of normal work hours will be paid by:

1. flex time within the span of hours; or
2. overtime or TOIL outside the span of hours or on non-working days.

Section 4 - Flexible Time, Overtime, Time Off in Lieu and Shift Penalty Rates for Professional Staff

(20) Flexible time, overtime and time off in lieu (TOIL) are only available to professional staff, as only professional staff have ordinary or rostered hours of duty (the staff member’s normal working hours).

(21) Overtime and time off in lieu (TOIL) are normally only available to professional staff at position levels up to level 6/7.

(22) For professional staff at level 8/9, their Supervisor may approve overtime or TOIL in special circumstances such as on-call arrangements.

(23) The Supervisor of professional staff may ask them to work outside their normal working hours to meet urgent business needs.

(24) The University compensates professional staff at position levels up to level 6/7 for work outside their normal working hours, other than under flexible work arrangements (in accordance with the University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023, clause 50) by:

1. permitting the staff member to take the same amount of time as leave from their normal working hours at a later date (flexible time)(Professional staff enterprise agreement, clause 50.3); and/or either
2. paying the staff member for the time worked at the overtime rate specified in clause 47 of the University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023; or
3. permitting the staff member to take time off in lieu (TOIL) at the rate of overtime hours that would have been payable, e.g. four (4) hours overtime worked at double time is equal to eight (8) hours of TOIL accumulation (University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023, clause 47.9).

(25) See clause 43 of the University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023 for penalty rates paid to shift workers for working evening shifts, night shifts and weekend shifts.

Flexible Time

(26) Flexible time enables staff to record small variations of their normal working hours to meet short term business needs.

(27) A staff member will record the hours that they work outside their normal working hours and, where their Supervisor has not asked them to work the extra hours, will keep their Supervisor informed of these hours and the reasons additional work is needed.

(28) Staff members can only accrue flexible time within the span of hours applicable under clause 41 of the University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023. Hours worked outside of the span of hours will be managed as TOIL or overtime pay.

(29) A staff member may accrue up to two (2) days of flexible time in every four (4) weeks of employment.

(30) Where there is an agreement between the staff member and their Supervisor that additional hours above two (2) days are required, these hours will be managed as TOIL or overtime pay.

(31) Supervisors will ensure that staff can take their accrued flexible time as leave unless this prevents the team from maintaining its services or places an excessive workload on other team members.

(32) Staff must discuss the timing of taking the flex leave with their Supervisor in advance and enter via WebKiosk for approval.

(33) A staff member unable to take flex leave due to organisational needs or workload within six (6) months after the work for which it was accrued may ask to be paid the flexible time at the ordinary rate of pay. Flexible time will only be paid on approval by the Chief People and Culture Officer.

(34) If a staff member’s employment with the University ends, any accrued Flexible Time will be paid out at the staff members ordinary rate of pay.

Overtime

(35) Staff will only be paid overtime, or granted time off in lieu (TOIL) where their Supervisor has agreed in advance to them doing the additional work and the work is:

1. outside their normal working hours, except for part-time staff members; or
2. outside their normal span of hours.

(36) For part-time staff members, hours in addition to their regular working hours but not more than 35 hours will be paid the ordinary rate of pay for each additional hour worked (University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023, clause 29.3).

(37) A staff member’s Supervisor may direct them to work overtime. The Supervisor will give the staff member at least 48 hours' notice.

(38)  A staff member may decline to work overtime if they provide a sufficient reason for this, which may include safety concerns or personal commitments.

(39) A staff member will be paid overtime as follows:

1. at 150% of their ordinary pay rate for the first two (2) consecutive hours, Monday to Saturday;
2. at 200% of their ordinary pay rate after the first two (2) hours, Monday to Saturday;
3. at 200% of their ordinary pay rate for Sunday;
4. at 250% of their ordinary pay rate for public holidays.

(40) The following minimum hours of overtime pay will apply:

(41) Where reasonably practicable, a staff member’s overtime will be arranged so they have at least 10 consecutive hours off duty.

(42) Where overtime ends less than 10 hours before the next start of the staff member’s normal working hours, they:

1. will not normally be required to start work until they have had at least 10 consecutive hours off;
2. will be paid for the normal working hours that they do not work at the normal pay rate for those hours;
3. a staff member’s Supervisor may direct them to resume work less than 10 hours after overtime ends. In such a case, the staff member will be paid overtime rates for all hours they work until they have had at least 10 consecutive hours off.

(43) For shift workers, eight (8) hours is substituted for 10 hours when:

1. overtime is worked for the purpose of changing shift rosters; or
2. where a shift is changed to replace another shift worker’s unplanned absence.

(44) To claim payment for overtime, a staff member will submit a request for the overtime payment via WebKiosk. 

(45) Overtime will be calculated for each day separately, to the nearest quarter of an hour.

Time Off in Lieu (TOIL)

(46) TOIL should not be part of a continuing pattern of work. If a staff member regularly works particular hours outside their normal working hours, they and their Supervisor should consider flexible working hours or a flexible working arrangement: see the Flexible Work Procedure for these.

(47) Staff will only be granted TOIL, or be paid overtime where their Supervisor has agreed in advance to them doing the additional work and the work is:

1. outside their normal working hours; or
2. outside their normal span of hours.

(48) See clause 50.3 of the University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023 for the limit on flexible time in any four-week (4) period, beyond which time worked outside the staff member’s normal working hours must have been approved by their Supervisor and be compensated as overtime or TOIL.

(49) A staff member who has worked beyond the normal working hours will be paid overtime for the additional hours, unless:

1. they accrue flexible time and take flex leave for the hours (see previous subsection); or
2. they and their Supervisor agree that they will take TOIL instead of overtime as compensation for the additional hours worked.

(50) A staff member can accrue only as much TOIL as the hours of their normal working week.

(51) Supervisors will ensure that staff can take their accumulated TOIL as leave, unless this will prevent the team from maintaining its services or place an excessive workload on other team members.

(52) TOIL will be taken at a time agreed with the staff member and their Supervisor.

On-call arrangements

(53) Staff members may be required to participate in an on-call roster, to perform work outside of their ordinary hours for emergency purposes of maintenance of plant, equipment, systems or critical services. The University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023 (clause 48) sets out the details for on-call arrangements.

(54) Staff members on call must be contactable and available to deal with matters by telephone or computer, or return to work within a reasonable timeframe, as required.

(55) On-call rosters will be available at least 14 days before the roster starts. Staff members will be notified of any changes at least 72 hours prior. 

(56) While on-call, a staff member will receive an on-call allowance as specified by Schedule C of the University of Wollongong (Professional Services Employees) Enterprise Agreement, 2023.

(57) Work performed because of being called whilst on-call will be paid the following multiple of the staff members ordinary rate of pay:

1. 150%, first two (2) consecutive hours Monday to Saturday;
2. 200% more than two (2) hours worked Monday to Saturday and all hours Sunday; or
3. 250% all hours on a public holiday.

(58) Worked performed will be paid the following minimum periods:

1. one (1) hour, where the issue can be resolved remotely; or
2. three (3) hours, where the staff member is required to return to work (including travel time);
3. the minimum engagement period will apply once per rostered shift.

(59) Overtime payments will be calculated to the nearest quarter of an hour.

(60) A staff member can decline a request or direction to be available for on-call because of risks to their health and safety or their personal circumstances, including family responsibilities.

(61) The requirement to participate in an on-call roster will be included in position descriptions.

Section 5 - Roles and Responsibilities

(62) Roles and responsibilities are detailed in this Procedure.

Section 6 - Definitions