Salt Industry Award
Industry award for the Australian salt industry - production, gathering, extracting, harvesting, storing, distributing, packaging, manufacturing, treating, refining, brine handling, processing, transporting, shipping and conveying salt + plant maintenance + temporary labour services (cl 4.2). 5 classifications (Level 1 Introductory → Level 5 Advanced; standard rate Level 4 Competent $1,068.40/wk = $28.12/hr). Distinctive features: industry allowance $26.71/wk ALL-PURPOSE baked into ordinary hourly rate (D1), continuous shiftworker OT FLAT 200% with no first-tier 2-hr split (D2), permanent night shift 130% (D3 - distinct from afternoon/night 115%), Saturday 150% / Sunday 200% applies to SHIFTWORKER ord hours only (D4 - non-shift weekend = OT spread), 26-week hours averaging (D5), 12-hr day available by majority agreement + grandfathered pre-2010 (D6), cycle work permitted (D7), daylight saving on actual clock time (D8), junior age scale pivoting on Level 2 rate not standard rate (D9), annualised wage with outer limits + 12-month reconciliation (D11), shiftworker excessive leave threshold 10 weeks vs non-shift 8 (D12), min rest period 8h shift / 10h non-shift (D15).
Fully built. Rates, allowances, penalties and any required apprentice / junior rates are all wired to the rate resolver and have been verified against the consolidated award text and the latest pay guide.
Official Fair Work rates. This award’s minimum pay rates are synced directly from the Fair Work Commission’s Modern Awards Pay Database and updated automatically when the Commission changes them - including the annual wage review - so payroll always uses the current legal minimums without a manual update.
What's built
- All 5 cl 16.1 classifications at corrected July 2025 figures (PR786625 ppc 1Jul25): Level 1 $25.36/hr → Level 5 $29.25/hr (PRE-allowance figures). Standard rate = Level 4 $28.12/hr.
- Industry allowance $26.71/wk ALL-PURPOSE (cl 19.3(b)) baked INTO ordinary hourly rate at seed time - base_hourly_rate stored INCLUSIVE.
- Cl 19.3(d) leading hand 3-tier: 3-10 emp $25.11/wk / 11-20 emp $41.88/wk / >20 emp $50.32/wk.
- Cl 19.3(c) first aid $21.37/wk; cl 19.4(a) meal-OT $18.38 (>2h OT without prior-day notice).
- Pay conditions including DEDICATED 'Continuous Shiftworker' variant with FLAT 200% OT (FT/PT) / 225% (Casual) - no first-tier 2-hr split (D2).
- Sat 150% / Sun 200% as ordinary penalties for shiftworkers only (D4).
- Cl 22 shift loadings: afternoon 115% / night 115% / permanent night 130% (D3 - casual permanent night 155%).
- Cl 21.1(c) recall to work min 4h after leaving premises (D14).
- Cl 18 annualised wage arrangements with outer limits + 12-month reconciliation + 14-day top-up (D11).
- Cl 16.2 junior age scale 65/80/90/100% based on Level 2 rate (D9).
- Cl 16.3 apprentice rates pre-2014/post-2014 with Y12 split + adult apprentice prior-employment protection (D10).
- Cl 23 leave: shiftworker excessive accrual threshold 10 wks vs non-shift 8 wks (D12); continuous shiftworker AL 5 wks; cashout 2 wks/yr min 4 wks remaining; temporary shutdown 28-day notice.
- Cl 13A right to disconnect (PR778080 from 26Aug24) with TWO award-specific exceptions: cl 13A.4(a) emergency roster change under cl 14.1(d); cl 13A.4(b) recall to work under cl 21.1(c) (D16).
- All 2 default super funds per cl 20.4 (substituted PR794796 ppc 23 Jan 2026): Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper (D17).
Known limitations
- Industry allowance baked into base hourly at seed time (D1) - resolver must NOT add allowance again on top of penalty multipliers.
- Continuous shiftworker OT flat 200% (D2) - resolver must detect Continuous Shiftworker pay condition and apply flat 2x (no first-tier 2-hr split).
- Junior age scale pivots on Level 2 rate (D9), NOT standard rate or own classification - application logic.
- Adult apprentice prior-employment protection (D10) requires runtime tenure check at training-agreement time.
- Annualised wage outer-limits + reconciliation (D11) requires per-employee runtime tracking against contractual outer limits.
- Min rest period varies by shift type (D15) - non-shift 10h, shift 8h.
- Saturday/Sunday penalties (D4) apply to SHIFTWORKER ord hours only - non-shift weekend work falls under OT spread.
Setup & special instructions
- Standard rate = Level 4 Competent $1,068.40/wk = $28.12/hr (cl 2 + cl 16.1).
- Industry allowance $26.71/wk (cl 19.3(b)) is ALL-PURPOSE - included in ordinary hourly rate for penalty/loading/AL calculations. Already baked into base_hourly_rate at seed time.
- Continuous shiftworker definition: rostered to work regularly on Sundays AND public holidays in a continuous process (cl 2 def). OT flat 200% (FT/PT) / 225% (Casual) regardless of weekday/weekend (cl 21.2).
- Permanent night shift 130% (cl 22.1(b)) is DISTINCT from afternoon/night 115%. Casual permanent night = 155% (cl 22.1(d)).
- Saturday 150% / Sunday 200% applies to SHIFTWORKER ordinary hours only (cl 22.2). Non-shift weekend work = OT spread.
- 26-week hours averaging available (cl 13.1(c)). 12-hour day available by majority agreement (cl 13.2(c)/13.3(c)) + grandfathered pre-2010 12-hour rosters (cl 13.2(d)).
- Cycle work permitted (cl 13.4): 38h × total cycle days ÷ 7.
- Daylight saving - pay computed on actual clock time, not adjusted hours (cl 13.5).
- Junior age scale 65/80/90/100% (under-17 / 17 / 18 / 19+) pivots on LEVEL 2 rate (cl 16.2 / D9), NOT standard rate or own classification.
- Adult apprentice prior-employment protection (cl 16.3(f)) - pre-existing tenure ≥6 mo FT or ≥12 mo PT/regular casual entitles employee to retain pre-apprenticeship rate.
- Annualised wage arrangements (cl 18) require outer limits + 12-month reconciliation + 14-day top-up + records of starts/finishes/breaks.
- Excessive leave: 10 wks for continuous shiftworker (cl 23.7(a)) vs 8 wks non-shift.
- Higher duties 2-hr threshold (cl 16.5): ≤2h paid for time only.
- Recall min 4h after leaving premises (cl 21.1(c) / D14).
- Min rest between successive days/shifts: shiftworker 8h vs non-shift 10h (cl 15.5(b)).
- Right to disconnect (cl 13A): TWO award-specific exceptions - cl 13A.4(a) emergency roster change under cl 14.1(d); cl 13A.4(b) recall to work under cl 21.1(c).
- 2 default super funds per cl 20.4 PR794796 ppc 23Jan26: Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper.
- • Salt industry
- • Salt extraction
- • Salt harvesting
- • Salt processing
- • Salt packaging
- • Brine handling
- • Salt transport
- • Salt refining
The consolidated award text is the authoritative source. Always confirm specific obligations against the award itself - Mployr's implementation status reflects what we've seeded; it does not replace legal advice.
Want to see this award running on your data?
We can demo a pay run on the salt industry award using sample employees in a sandbox tenant - including any of the special-instruction steps above so you can see exactly what your team's day-to-day looks like.
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