Council team members – putting the right agreement in place

START: We will need an employment agreement when someone new joins us or when there is a significant change (see definitions in the table below) in their employment status.

The first question in deciding what agreement (and therefore what terms and conditions) we will offer is “What work will they do?” The vast majority of our team members perform work within the scope of one of our two Collective Employment Agreements (CEAs). The type of work people do will determine the agreements we offer.

1. The PSA Salaried Officers CEA covers those employed in salaried positions in clerical, administration, professional and management positions (excluding tier 3 managers and above). Note: these positions may be in any of our operational areas i.e. I-Site, Aquatic Centre, Waste Water Treatment Plant, Library, Museum or Events and Venues.

2. The RLC/AWUNZ CEA covers those whose work is of an essentially physical nature and those directly supervising such work (excluding tier 5 managers and above). Note: these positions may be in any of our operational areas i.e. Aquatic Centre, Waste Water Treatment Plant, or Events and Venues.

3. Senior managerial positions at or above tier 3 for salaried staff and above tier 5 for waged staff are outside the coverage of our CEAs and covered by an IEA.

4. We offer those covered by either the PSA Salaried Officers CEA or RLC/AWUNZ CEA a choice of either an IEA or CEA (if they join the appropriate union). While the terms and conditions of each CEA and corresponding IEA’s are very similar we respect the right of team members to choose to become a union member and be covered by a CEA. The IEA offered will essentially reflect the work they will perform and will be tailored to whether they are salaried, waged, full-time/part-time, casual or fixed term. There are some differences in IEAs for people working at the Library, Museum, Aquatic Centre and I-Site to reflect operational requirements of those businesses. The table below will help you find the appropriate IEA for people on your team. At the verbal offer stage of recruitment we explain this choice (CEA or IEA) to new employees and provide them with a draft copy of the proposed IEA or CEA to evaluate and make their choice.

5. Organisational Development and Capability will prepare the appropriate IEA.

6. Organisational Development and Capability will advise which is the appropriate CEA or IEA and prepare the agreement documentation for you to approve. The agreement and our letter of offer are then given to the new hire as part of their onboarding pack.

7. It is important that new employees return signed letters of offer and other documentation before they begin work. Our risk otherwise is that people have begun work before they have accepted our terms and conditions of employment.