Review of certain C14 rates in modern awards

This report pertains to the review of certain modern awards which have classification rates at the C14 rate, which are either not expressly stated as transitional rates or where the transition period is not specified. The C14 rate is equivalent to the National Minimum Wage (NMW) rate. The President of the Fair Work Commission had expressed a provisional view in the August 2019 Statement that certain modern awards be referred to a Full Bench for review. This view was based on the finding that 45 modern awards included a rate of pay at the C14 rate. The Full Bench was tasked with determining whether the C14 classifications in these awards provided a fair and relevant safety net of terms and conditions.

The legal issues before the Full Bench were whether the C14 classifications in certain modern awards provided a fair and relevant safety net of terms and conditions. This involved determining whether the C14 rates were appropriate and whether they provided adequate protection for employees. The Full Bench had to consider the evidence and submissions presented by the parties, including statistical information from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours (EEH) as to the number of award reliant employees in receipt of C14 level wages in the modern awards which may be subject of the union applications.

After considering the evidence and submissions, the Full Bench found that the C14 classifications in certain modern awards did not provide a fair and relevant safety net of terms and conditions. The Full Bench noted that the C14 rates were not appropriately set and did not provide adequate protection for employees. The Full Bench also noted that the ABS data indicated that a significant number of employees were receiving wages at or below the C14 rate. As a result, the Full Bench made orders to vary the relevant modern awards to ensure that the C14 classifications provided a fair and relevant safety net of terms and conditions.

The Full Bench made orders to vary certain modern awards to ensure that the C14 classifications provided a fair and relevant safety net of terms and conditions. The orders included increasing the C14 rates in certain awards to ensure that they provided adequate protection for employees. The Full Bench also made orders to ensure that the transition periods for the C14 rates were clearly specified in the relevant modern awards. These orders were designed to ensure that the C14 classifications in the relevant modern awards provided a fair and relevant safety net of terms and conditions for employees.