The Ultimate Meat Industry Award (MA000059) Summary [2024 Updated]

1. Meat Manufacturing Establishments
   These are businesses that are predominantly involved in the manufacturing or processing of fresh meat, meat products, small goods or any other edible meat products, especially if meat forms a substantial ingredient.
2. Meat Processing Establishments
   This would include retail and wholesale sales that predominantly involve killing, dressing, boning, slicing, preparation and/or packing of fresh meat. This also includes any related ancillary activities such as the processing of skins or hides.
3. Meat Retail Establishments
   This involves businesses that are involved in the sale and preparation of meat products such as fresh meat, ham, small goods and other processed meats such as butchers.

On-hire employees, who are employees that are supplied to the employer’s client to work under them, are also covered by the Meat Industry Award if it’s within the industry.

The Meat Industry award also covers employers that also provide training services for apprentices and trainees in the meat industry.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of businesses that would fall under the Meat Industry Award:

• Abbatoirs
• Meat Wholesalers
• Meat Retailers such as butchers
• Smallgoods Manufacturing
• Feedlots
• Game Meat Processing
• Knackeries

The Meat Industry Award doesn’t cover:

1. Meat inspectors
2. Any employees who are covered by the Nurses Award, general Retail Industry Award or Food, Beverage and Tobacco Manufacturing Award
3. Employees who conduct managerial duties and responsibilities (foreman or higher)
4. Employees and employers engaged in the handling of poultry, game or game birds not listed in the definition above
5. Employees and employers who store, transport or distribution meat or meat products but are not part of the three types of businesses listed above
6. Employees who provide mechanical and electrical maintenance covered by the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award

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• Full-time
• Part-time; or
• Casual

There is also one other type of employment called daily hire, which applies only to meat process establishments such as abattoirs.

Full-Time Employees

To be classified as a full-time employee, you are either:

• An employee who is engaged to work 38 ordinary hours per week; or
• Averages 38 hours per week over 4 weeks; or
• An employee who is considered full-time at the workplace by the employers despite working less than 38 hours per week

Employees can either be paid per hour or as an annualised salary.

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Part-Time Employees

To be classified as a part-time employee under the Meat Industry Award, you must:

• Be working fewer than 38 ordinary hours on a reasonably predictable basis; or
• Receives the same pay and conditions as a full-timer on a pro-rata basis

Part-time employees must be paid a minimum of 4 hours per shift.

The following needs to be agreed in writing on a regular pattern of work:

• Hours of work each day
• Days of the week that the employee will work
• Start and finish times of each day

Any changes to the guaranteed hours must only occur if it’s been made as a written agreement between the employee and employer. Any time worked that exceeds these agreed conditions must be paid at overtime rates.

For example, a part-time employee works on Tuesday and Wednesday between 6am and 2pm. They’ve been employed for 16 guaranteed hours per week. If they start earlier (e.g. 5am to 1pm) or work any additional hours outside of the agreed roster, overtime rates will apply.

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Casual Employees

A casual employee is classified as an employee with no guaranteed hours of work or works with irregular patterns under the Meat Industry Award.

Because of this, they’re paid an additional 25% loading on top of their base rate of pay as they don’t receive annual leave and personal/carer’s leave entitlements, redundancy benefits and other entitlements that part-time and full-time employees received.

A minimum of 4 hours of work is required for casual employees and must not exceed 38 hours during the week.

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Daily Hire

You can have either daily hire or part-time daily hire employees. Here are the conditions:

• Full-time daily hire employees must work no less than 7.6 hours each day
• Part-time daily hire employees must work no less than 4 hours each day

Daily hires are paid an additional 20% of the minimum weekly rate as well as an extra 10% on the daily rate.

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Right to Request Casual Conversion

Employees have the right to request that their employment be converted to any other employment type if they are a regular casual employee.

Regular casual employees are employees who have worked a predictable pattern of hours with very little change across a 12 month period before the request.

This must be done in writing and there should be no reasonable grounds for refusal unless it includes:

• Significant changes to their hours of work to become engaged under the new employment type.
• The position may not exist in the next 12 months.
• The position may reduce in the number of hours within the next 12 months.
• Significant changes in working day and times within the next 12 months that don’t suit the employee’s availability

All grounds of refusal should be known or reasonably foreseeable.

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• Must not exceed 38 hours per week or exceed 152 hours in 28 days for a full-time employee
• Must not exceed 38 hours per week for casual employees

The maximum number of ordinary hours that can be worked on a single day is 10 hours, excluding unpaid meal breaks.

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Hours of Work for Meat Processing Establishments

Ordinary hours of work under the Meat Industry Award for meat processing establishment employees is:

Employers and the majority of the employees can also agree to work on Saturday and Sunday. This agreement can also be established with particular individual employees.

Hours of Work for Meat Manufacturing Establishments

Ordinary hours of work under the Meat Industry Award for meat manufacturing establishment employees is:

An employee can work up to 4 hours on Saturday between 6am and 6pm.

Hours of Work for Meat Retail Establishments

Ordinary hours of work under the Meat Industry Award for meat retail establishments are:

Load out areas such as delivery, storage, inspection and receiving of meat or meat products can be worked between 10pm and 4pm the next day, 7 days a week.

Employees that regularly work Sundays must be given 3 consecutive days off for every 152 hours worked or every 4 weeks inclusive of Saturday and Sunday. If this isn’t possible, employers and employees can agree on an alternative as long as it’s in writing and signed by each party.

Rostering

Rostering must include start and finish times and must be at least one week in length.

Any amendments to rosters must be given with 36 hours’ notice.

Make-Up Time

Employees can make-up time at a later time if they take time off ordinary hours if it’s given consent by the employer.

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Unpaid Meal Breaks

Employees must take a minimum 30-minute unpaid meal break within working 5 consecutive hours.

If this is not possible, the employee will be paid overtime rates for that period, they would have taken the meal break.

Paid Rest Breaks for Meat Processing Establishments Only

Employees who are part of a chain or system of production are entitled to a paid rest break of 10 minutes that need to be taken either during the first half of the shift or at a time decided by the employer.

This is only applicable for meat processing establishments with 15 or more employees.

Interruption of Work

If there is an interruption that occurs within 20 minutes of a break (both paid or unpaid), the employer can request that breaks be taken.

If it’s a breakdown of machinery within one hour of the normal meal break, the employer can direct employees to have their meal break at an earlier time.

Shiftworkers

A shiftworker must be provided with a minimum of 30 minutes as an unpaid meal break within 5 hours of working or a paid break of 30 minutes after working 5 hours.

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The latest Pay Guide for the Meat Industry Award provides more information regarding the most recent minimum wage.

Please also refer to the minimum rates for different classifications.

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As of 1 July 2022, however, employers are required to pay a super guarantee on behalf of eligible employees, regardless of how much they are paid.

Currently, a rate of 11.5% of an employee’s ordinary earnings must be contributed.

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1. Cold temperature allowance based on temperature range:
1. Below zero but not below -16°C
2. Below -16°C but not below -18°C
3. Below -18°C but not below -21°C
4. Below -21°C
2. First aid allowance
3. Leading hand allowance
1. Supervising 3 - 9 employees
2. Supervising 10+ employees
4. Clothing allowance (meat processing establishments only)
5. Meal allowance
6. Travelling and transfers

Search our database for all relevant allowances to your modern award.

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For meat processing establishments, overtime that is worked on Sunday will need to be paid at 200% of the hourly rate with a minimum payment of 4 hours.

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Time Off Instead of Overtime Payment

An employee and employer can agree for the employee to take time off instead of being paid for overtime worked. There are a few conditions that need to occur:

• The employee is entitled to taking off the equivalent of the overtime payment. For example, 2 overtime hours at a penalty rate of 150% would mean 3 hours off for the employee rather than 2 hours
• The time taken off must occur within 6 months from the time the overtime was worked unless agreed between the employee and employer. If there is no agreement, then the employee needs to pay the overtime in the first pay cycle after the 6 months.
• The employer will need to immediately pay the overtime if the employee decides to request this

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Casual shiftworkers are paid 25% casual loading on top of the shift rate that they work on. For example, a casual employee working a night shift would be paid 150% (125% + 25% casual loading) of the minimum hourly rate.

Twelve Hour Days or Shifts

A written agreement between the employee and employer allows for twelve-hour days or shifts under the Meat Industry Award if the following is implemented:

• Health monitoring procedures
• Suitable rostering arrangements
• Proper supervision
• Adequate breaks
• Adequate trial to review process to assess the sustainability of the shift

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Meat Processing Establishment

Meat Manufacturing Establishment

Meat Retail Establishment

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Under the Meat Industry Award, a rate of 17.5% leave loading on top of their annual leave is applied when an employee takes paid time off.

Employees should get the higher of 17.5% or the penalty rate they would've received if they usually worked on a weekend or public holiday with penalty rates.

Example:
If a full-time employee applies for leave between Thursday this week and Wednesday next week, he or she would typically work 8 hours of shiftwork on a Saturday.

The employer must calculate 38 hours, including a 17.5% leave loading and compare with how much the employee will typically receive if they had been paid working across that period with the Saturday penalty rates.

Whichever of the two calculations is higher is how much the employee should be paid across that period of time, not for individual days.

The idea is so that the employee is protected from being paid less for going on paid annual leave.

Note: Shiftworkers are entitled to 5 weeks of paid annual leave if they are available 7 days a week and regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays.

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All public holiday entitlements are per the National Employment Standards (NES) and the penalty rates outlined in the table above.

Employees that need to work on a public holiday may substitute an alternative day off provided that it’s been agreed in writing between the employer and employee.

The following penalty rates apply for working on public holidays:

Except for casuals, all penalty rates above are on top of the minimum hourly rates (see minimum rates)

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That's why we've created an eBook that consolidates all this information into actionable steps.

This means a payroll processing checklist designed for you to use in your pay run so that you'll never miss a single condition ever again.

Download here.

Businesses that don't have specialised payroll team members or fail to understand their employer obligations often are exposed to severe penalties due to underpayments, and what's constituted as wage theft.

We've created a separate article that explains the 8 conditions you didn't know with the Meat Industry Award that you should know to avoid getting you and your business into trouble.

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