News
Back pay for missing hours on public holiday shift
Friday November 1, 2024
The AMA (WA) successfully advocated for a Member to be back paid $255.43 for their missing public holiday observed hours from 2023, where they had been rostered on a short shift.
The Member would have ordinarily been rostered to work nine hours, however on one public holiday they were rostered to work a short shift and only paid for 4.5 hours at public holiday rates. Advice from HSS insisted only worked hours are paid at penalty rates, and no observed hours were required to be paid for the remainder of the day.
The AMA (WA) successfully disputed this position and advocated on our Member’s behalf to be paid the remaining 4.5 hours they were owed, including adjustments to overtime payments for that pay period.
This is a timely reminder to all Members that under Clause 35(4) of the Agreement, all medical practitioners rostered off duty on a public holiday are entitled to be paid as if the day was an ordinary working day. If you are rostered on a short shift on a public holiday, you are entitled to be paid the remaining ordinary hours you would have worked at base rates, including a correction to your overtime payment if you are a DiT.
During recent Agreement negotiations, the AMA (WA) bargaining committee successfully negotiated with WA Health to insert clarifying terms into the next Agreement, to avoid any confusion to a medical practitioner’s entitlements moving forward.
If you have been rostered to work a short shift on any public holidays in the last six years and have not been paid the remaining hours you would have ordinarily worked had it not been a public holiday, please contact the AMA (WA) Industrial Relations Team for assistance.
