Under the Horticulture Award, full-time, part-time or casual employees can still be paid a piece rate for performing a task. The piece rate has to allow for the average competent worker to earn the equivalent of at least 15% above the minimum hourly rate for the employee's classification. For casuals, this includes the casual loading.
There are also new definitions covering competent pieceworkers and the average productivity of a competent pieceworker.
Hourly wage guarantee
From 28 April 2022, workers paid a piece rate will be guaranteed a minimum hourly wage. This is called a 'minimum hourly wage guarantee'. Affected pieceworkers have to be paid a minimum pay rate per hour, effective the first pay period on or after 28 April 2022. This change applies to full-time, part-time and casual employees.
New record-keeping obligations
Employers have new record-keeping obligations for pieceworkers, including that they record the hours worked by a pieceworker and the piece rates applied.
New piecework rules
The Horticulture Award will still allow employers to pay full-time, part-time or casual employees a piece rate. Employers must now fix the piece rate at an amount so that a pieceworker, working at the 'average productivity of a pieceworker competent at the piecework task', will earn at least 15% more per hour than the minimum hourly rate for the pieceworker's classification level. For casuals, the minimum hourly rate includes the casual loading.
From 28 April 2022, the new piece rates for employees achieving the average productivity of a pieceworker competent at the piecework task are as follows:
Full-time or part-time employees
The piece rate must allow a pieceworker working at the average productivity of a competent pieceworker to earn at least 15% more than the minimum hourly rate for the pieceworker's classification level. As an example, for a current adult full-time level 1 employee, the piece rate must allow the pieceworker working at that productivity to earn at least $23.38 per hour.
Casuals
The piece rate must allow a pieceworker working at the average productivity of a competent pieceworker to earn at least 15% more than the minimum hourly rate (plus the 25% casual loading) for the pieceworker's classification level. As an example, for a current casual adult level 1 pieceworker, the rate must allow the pieceworker working at that productivity to earn at least $29.22 per hour.
If a pieceworker does any work in addition to the task for which they are being paid a piece rate, the pieceworker must be paid for that additional work at the hourly rate for the pieceworker.
New pieceworker definitions
The Horticulture Award has new definitions for a 'pieceworker competent at the piecework task' and the 'average productivity of a pieceworker competent at the piecework task'.
A 'pieceworker competent at the piecework task' means a pieceworker who has at least 76 hours' experience performing the task. Examples of a task include picking fruit, such as apples or strawberries.
Employers can work out the 'average productivity of a pieceworker competent at the piecework task' over a period a specific way. It's calculated by dividing:
- the total output of the pieceworkers competent at the piecework task over that period
- by the total of hours worked on the piecework task by the pieceworkers competent at the piecework task over that same period (where output is measured in the same unit used to specify the piece rate - for example, a punnet, bucket or kilogram).
Minimum hourly wage guarantee for pieceworkers
From 28 April 2022, the Horticulture Award will have a minimum hourly wage guarantee for pieceworkers. This means that pieceworkers have to receive at least the minimum hourly rate for their classification, like other workers covered by the award.
