Jats Joint Case: Are SCHADS Sleepover Shift Rules Changing for NDIS Providers?
Introduction
This video explains upcoming changes to the definition and treatment of sleepover shifts for NDIS providers. It covers a recent court case, the Jats Joint case, which ruled that sleepover shifts should be treated as two separate shifts rather than one. The video outlines how this affects the calculation of shift penalties, overtime rules, and potential wage savings. It also discusses proposed limits on shift length before and after sleepovers, as well as how these changes will be implemented in practice. Pay Cat has modelled the changes in a pre-built SCHADS template to prepare providers for the transition. The video highlights what is expected, what is not yet law, and how these changes will apply going forward.
Key Takeaways
- The Jats Joint court case ruled that sleepover shifts should be treated as two separate shifts.
- Traditionally, sleepover shifts were treated as one shift, often resulting in a night shift penalty.
- Proposed changes separate shifts before and after the sleepover, potentially creating afternoon and day shifts.
- Limits may be introduced to prevent shifts exceeding eight hours individually or 12 hours in total around a sleepover.
- These changes are not yet law and will go through a Full Bench hearing via the Fair Work Ombudsman.
- Changes will not apply retrospectively and are modelled in SCHADS templates for implementation going forward.
Transcript
Overview of the Sleepover Shift Changes
Good news for NDIS providers out there: the sleepover shift definition is changing, and here’s what you need to know.
Recently, there was a court case called the Jats Joint case brought before the courts against Fair Work. The case stated that sleepover shifts should be treated as two separate shifts. The courts ruled in favour of that, and that decision has been appealed by Fair Work. However, what we’re expecting to see is Fair Work introducing new changes to clarify how shifts work around a sleepover and what a sleepover actually means.
How Sleepover Shifts Have Traditionally Worked
The first thing to note is that a sleepover has traditionally been treated as one shift. That means when we have a worked portion before the sleepover and a worked portion after the sleepover, we go to the ultimate end time, which is usually in the morning, to work out what penalty applies. More often than not, that ends up being a night shift. What this change would do is make the shift in the morning separate and the shift before it separate in the evening.
More often than not, you’ll find that the shift before becomes an afternoon shift and the shift after becomes a day shift, instead of the entire thing being a night shift. That’s actually a good outcome if you’re a care provider. There’s going to be a saving to your wage bill on shifts worked either side of the sleepover.
Overtime Concerns and Proposed Limits
It does, however, open up a bit of conjecture around whether you can give an employee a 10-hour shift before the sleepover without triggering overtime, and a 10-hour shift after without triggering overtime. They are addressing that loophole. What they’re looking to potentially do is make it so you can’t work more than 12 hours total when adding up all the time before and after the sleepover shift.
They’re also going to make a rule that says an individual shift before a sleepover or after a sleepover, in isolation, can’t go for more than eight hours. If it does, it will attract overtime. Now, this doesn’t have the force of law yet. It’s going to a Full Bench hearing through the Fair Work Ombudsman to decide if these changes are going to go ahead. They did release a document earlier this week as a preview of what’s coming up, so keep an eye on it.
Implementation and Next Steps
Pay Cat is ready for these changes. We’ve already modelled them in our pre-built SCHADS template so we can see what they look like. If they get released, we’ll be rolling them out for all of our clients to use.
They also mentioned in this document that they’re not going to apply these changes retrospectively. It’s not something you can go back and recalculate all your sleepover shifts for the past few years. It will only apply from the date they announce it and going forward.
Stay across these changes, follow our social media channels, and we’ll keep you updated as we learn more. Thanks very much.