Introduction
The Victorian Government’s Wages Policy and Enterprise Bargaining Framework (Policy) requires all public sector agencies to make a Best Practice Employment Commitment (BPEC), which outlines the measures the parties will take during the life of the Agreement to operationalise the Government’s Public Sector Priorities. These measures must reflect good practice and be implemented operationally without significant cost.
In support of this requirement, the following commitments outline the operational practice improvements which have been agreed between the parties in reaching full and final settlement of a new enterprise agreement to cover Victorian Public Service (VPS) employees.
This BPEC commences operation upon the commencement of the Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement 2020 and operates for the duration of that agreement, save that item 7 and Attachment A operates until 31 March 2024.
Sick leave bank
Government priority: Government as a fair and best practice employer
During the life of the enterprise agreement the parties will trial the establishment of a 'sick leave bank' to support employees experiencing extended illness or injury that requires intermittent or continuous absence from work and who have exhausted other forms of paid leave entitlements. The form, duration and scope of the trial will be agreed in consultation with the CPSU.
Gender pay equity
Government priority: Government as a fair and best practice employer
The following commitments will be met in consultation with the CPSU:
- a commitment to identify male dominated areas of the public service and adopt affirmative practices to remove the systemic barriers that have resulted in segregation and to encourage women to take on roles in traditionally male dominated work areas/roles
- a commitment to a project to increase awareness of gender stereotyping and conscious/unconscious bias across the public service, including through training of staff in management roles. This will be led from the senior levels of the public service
- a commitment to a review of recruitment, selection, starting salaries, performance and promotion processes over the life of the agreement with a view to eliminating conscious/ unconscious bias
- a commitment to understanding the impact of multiple and intersecting inequalities and identifying and eradicating behaviours, practices, attitudes and acts that result in a higher gender pay gap, gender pay inequality and other forms of discrimination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women
- a commitment to have regard to the impact of insecure work arrangements upon gender pay gaps and inequality in determining the outcomes of the Casual and Fixed Term Audit
Casual and fixed term audit – Pilot
Government priority: Government as a fair and best practice employer
In October 2018, the government committed to promote and facilitate secure employment and job security in the Victoria public sector. To this end, the government has been carrying out an audit of the use of casual and fixed term employment in the public service, in consultation with the CPSU. The purpose of the audit is to understand the drivers and impact of the use of these forms of employment. The outcome of the audit will inform a strategy to maximise the use of ongoing and secure employment and will consider a process for employee conversion to ongoing employment.
During the course of the audit, to inform the eventual strategy, two evaluation pilots will be tested at identified public service entities or business units within these entities with among the highest use of casual and fixed term employment based on 30 June 2018 data.
The evaluation pilots will be conducted in consultation with the CPSU and will assess individual circumstances contributing to casual and fixed term employment being used in recruitment to specific positions and test a process for employee conversion to ongoing employment.
The pilots will involve an evaluation of a random sample of a total of 25 positions from across the total pool of casual and fixed-term employees in the two pilot areas.
The employer will consult with the CPSU on the evaluation criteria. The evaluation criteria will be informed by:
- feedback from the survey/interview stage of the audit
- the VPS Agreement and government policy in relation to the use of casual and fixed-term employment and secure employment
The results of the pilot will be reported to government as part of the audit report. The outcome of the pilots will also inform the ultimate strategy.
Review of common policies
Government priority: Deliver exceptional services and value for Victorians
To facilitate a consistent application of the key provisions of the enterprise agreement, IRV will, in consultation with the CPSU, update the common policies to reflect the terms of the new agreement. The parties will use their best endeavours to complete this process within the first 12 months of the new agreement commencing operation.
Hours of work for VPS 5 and above
Government priority: A professional and responsive public sector
Where an employee classified as VPS5 or higher performs regular duties outside ordinary hours of work at the direction of the employer, the employer will have regard to clause 41.3 (reasonable hours of work) and clause 14 (workload) and consider whether or not paid time off work is appropriate in all the circumstances.
Dangerous medical conditions
Government priority: Government as a fair and best practice employer
In seeking to take steps under clause 49 (Dangerous medical conditions), the employer will ensure any reasonable action is taken expeditiously having due regard to the affected employee’s mental health and wellbeing with a view to facilitating, wherever possible, the employee’s return to work as quickly as possible where it is safe and reasonable to do so.
Workforce transition arrangements
Government priority: Government as a fair and best practice employer
The parties have agreed enhanced arrangements for the management of workforce transitions. These arrangements will sit outside of the enterprise agreement and are detailed in Attachment A. These arrangements will operate until 31 March 2024.
Attachment A: Workforce transition arrangements
1. Application and scope
(a) The Workforce Transition Arrangements (Arrangements) outlined in this Attachment apply to all employers and employees covered by the Victorian Public Service Enterprise Agreement 2020.
(b) These Arrangements apply in addition to the obligations outlined in the Public Sector Industrial Relations Policies 2015 (or their successor) (IR Policies) for the duration of the Arrangements.
2. Duration
(a) The Arrangements outlined in this Appendix will operate until 31 March 2024.
(b) After this date the additional obligations on employers outlined in the Arrangement will cease and will revert solely to those outlined in the IR Policies.
3. Campaign promoting the VPS
(a) Employers will develop a campaign promoting:
- the VPS as an employer of choice
- pride in the VPS
- the scope of work undertaken by public servants to support the government of the day, and
- the broad range of services provided to the Victorian population
(b) The campaign will establish a future vision of the VPS and be developed in conjunction with the CPSU.
4. Workload
Employers will work with the CPSU to ensure that employee workload is appropriately managed.
5. Enhancing mobility through portability of entitlements in the Victorian public sector
(a) The Departments and the CPSU will work towards a common set of agreed mobility principles to apply to employers across the public sector.
(b) In the first instance the parties will explore the feasibility of application of mobility elements such as access to available roles and portability of entitlements with the public sector agencies listed in Attachment B with an Enterprise Agreement covering the CPSU. This will include consideration of the impact on mobility of recognition of service for the purposes of accrued entitlements.
6. Strengthening regional partnerships
Employers will explore, in consultation with the Jobs and Skills Exchange (JSE), the option of establishing regional jobs and skills exchange(s) in regions where this would facilitate the transition of current VPS employees to other employment in growth areas. This could include, for example, partnerships with local government, commonwealth government, statutory authorities and other regional employers.
7. Expanded Jobs and Skills Exchange (JSE)
(a) An expanded JSE could build on its service offerings and user base.
(b) Within available funding, the JSE could accelerate the following service offerings:
- fast track the JSE work already underway to design job pools for EA/administrative and specialist cohorts, addressing reliance on labour hire and professional services firms (eg building on the DHHS “free agent” model that deploys ongoing staff on a fee for service basis to fixed term strategic projects; or managing a pool(s) of VPS casual staff to fill short term roles for which labour hire is current commonly used)
- a phased and targeted approach to examining expansion to the broader public sector
(c) Expand JSE's place-based and regional impact:
- digital and face to face support to Regional Partnerships in their work to broker exchanges and other employment pathways to regional employers. Auspice forums for interested employers to network with interested staff
- deploy targeted roadshows, focusing on regional and other high-need teams, to promote JSE uptake and local opportunities
(d) Based on the current pilot, promote across the VPS the planned skills matching functionality to be available by 1 April 2020, which will provide more sophisticated matching between candidate profiles and vacancies. Full delivery of this functionality will depend on the finalisation of a new VPSC Capability Framework that will define the knowledge, skills and behaviours the VPS requires to achieve its objectives.
(e) A scaled-up engagement program to embed the 'internal first' policy, to:
- continue to mandate the use of the JSE for providing initial availability of jobs for 10 working days subject to limited exceptions
- embed the significant cultural change required to deliver the new policy
- minimise use of external advertising
- encourage applicants to actively apply for new roles, and
- address current perceptions - amongst hiring managers and HR teams - that low candidate numbers via JSE is a bad thing
(f) Develop or expand activities to support Department-based career support services including:
- expand promotion of job shares, as an enabler of more flexible work practices, building on pilots in some Departments;
- online tools to support staff in career transition (eg, on transferability of capabilities)
- deliver more regular, detailed information to career support services and staff on emerging job opportunities in the public sector (eg, early childhood education), and
- support the standing up of career support services in Departments, including design and the identification of qualified VPS career coaches
(g) The Jobs and Skills Exchange Steering Committee and IDC are developing protocols on how priority works for targeted positions and for YCS cadets (for VPS2 roles) and transitioning VPS employees.
8. Use of labour hire
(a) All requests for use of labour hire are to be approved by the Secretary of the applicable Department before engagement. The Government policy position on the use of labour hire is contained in the “Administrative Guidelines on Engaging Labour Hire in the Victorian Public Service” (Labour Hire Guidelines). The Labour Hire Guidelines provide that labour hire should only be engaged in the following circumstances:
- internal and/or external recruitment action has not been successful or is unlikely to be successful
- an existing VPS employee is on short-term leave or secondment, or
- recruitment is underway to fill a vacancy, and temporary backfill is required
9. Career support
(a) Employers will provide supports for employees which will include the following:
- a career support service that will assist employees with identifying their skills, developing resumes and cover letters, preparation and techniques for job interviews
- seeking partnership with a suitable public training provider that allows affected employees to improve their employment opportunities by way of undertaking a course of study and/or accreditation including but not limited to micro-credentialing
- time release to participate in career support activities/workshops and/or job interviews
- approval for time release to undertake a course of study that will facilitate the transition to alternative employment, and
- employment references where appropriate
10. Alternative employment incentives
(a) Current policy is for VPS employees to have 13 weeks in which to find a new role if structural change results in change in employment situations. Consideration will be given on a case by case basis to extending this period where the extension will facilitate a transition to ongoing employment in another role.
(b) Current policy is for VPS employees affected by structural change to be entitled to a six month period of salary maintenance if they take up a lower grade VPS position. VPS employees will be entitled to an additional 6 months of salary maintenance in these circumstances, bringing the total period of salary maintenance to 12 months.
(c) An additional tool available to employers is to offer affected employees an incentive payment of 5 weeks’ pay for finding themselves alternative employment outside the VPS within a specified period. Noting that employers are at different stages of their processes to determine the future shape of their businesses, this would be used on a case by case basis depending on employers’ situation and needs.
(d) Employers will also explore alternative work arrangements with employees, including part-time fractions, utilisation of leave and other such arrangements.
11. Fair career transition or transition to retirement
(a) Affected employees approaching the end of their career or seeking to opt out of the current circumstances could apply for an Early Retirement Package (ERP).
(b) Departments will consider which employee groups will be invited to participate in the program and the criteria on which ERPs will be offered, having regard to their operational needs. In general, employees must be in paid and ongoing employment to be eligible. Departments may apply an age limit for eligibility for an ERP where appropriate to the situation and where consistent with relevant legislation.
(c) The elements of an enhanced ERP include:
- four weeks’ pay, irrespective of the employee’s length of service
- a lump sum early retirement incentive of up to $15,000 (for a full time employee)
- two weeks’ pay for each completed year of continuous service to a maximum of 15 years, and
- an additional four weeks’ pay for employees who are over 54
(d) Employees who accept an ERP cannot accept re-employment, either directly or through a labour hire agency, or receive a fee for service from a VPS employer for a period of 12 months.
(e) For employees interested in joining public sector boards post retirement, a government training program could be also be offered as part of the package.
Attachment B
- Accident Compensation Conciliation Service
- AMES Australia
- Architects Registration Board of Victoria
- Australian Centre for the Moving Image
- Departments of the Parliament
- Development Victoria
- Emerald Trust Railway Board
- Film Victoria
- Geelong Performing Arts Centre Trust
- Greyhound Racing Victoria
- Harness Racing Victoria
- Health Purchasing Victoria
- Melbourne Convention Bureau
- Museums Victoria
- National Gallery of Victoria
- Parks Victoria
- Royal Botanic Gardens Board
- Shrine of Remembrance Trust
- State Library of Victoria
- State Sports Centre Trust
- Transport Accident Commission
- Trust for Nature (Victoria)
- VicForests
- Victorian Legal Aid
- Victorian State Emergency Services
- Victorian Arts Centre Trust
- Victorian Asbestos Eradication Agency
- Victorian Building Authority
- Victorian Funds Management Corporation
- Victorian Institute of Teaching
- Victorian Law Foundation
- Victorian Managed Insurance Authority
- Victorian Pharmacy Authority
- Victorian Planning Authority
- Victorian WorkCover Authority
- Visit Victoria
- Zoological Parks and Gardens Board
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