MA000004: General Retail Industry Award Managed Template Improvements

The below article will outline the improvements to the General Retail Industry Award 2020 Managed Template.

Elsa Bland avatar
Written by Elsa Bland
Updated over a week ago

Improvements have been made to the MA000004: General Retail Industry Award (GRIA) Managed Template to incorporate new automated functionality.

The below changes have been included in this update:

The improvements outlined below are now live in the product.

You will be able to opt-in to these changes up until Tuesday 7 February 2023.

From Wednesday 8 February 2023 these changes will go live in all Tanda accounts with the GRIA Managed Template enabled.

For the details on how to opt in up until Tuesday 7 February please see below.

You can sync your GRIA Managed Template to populate all the below listed updates now by navigating to Compliance > clicking the + icon next to Award Template:

Then click the Update Award button next to the General Retail Industry Award in your list of Active Awards:

You will then be prompted to confirm that you would like to update the Managed Template:

Once OK is clicked the improvements to the GRIA Managed Template will just take a few minutes to populate in your account as indicated below:

Once the update is complete you will be taken to the GRIA Manage Template settings page which will show that your template is up to date as of the day that you enabled the improvements:

If you still require time to prepare for these improvements including populating the agreed regular hours of work for part time employees you will have until Tuesday 7 February 2023 to voluntarily opt in to these updates.

On Wednesday 8 February 2023 the improvements to the GRIA Manage Template as listed below will be live in all active Tanda accounts with this Managed Template enabled.

Please see below for all the key details on the improvements.

Automation of Part Time Compliance

Over the past 12 months, Tanda has invested in building functionality to simplify how you pay your Part Time staff.

Regular Hours of Work

Included in this recent expansion of functionality is the ability to record an employee's contracted regular hours of work as set out in clause 10.5 of the Award:

10. Part-time employees

10.5 At the time of engaging a part-time employee, the employer must agree in writing with the employee on a regular pattern of work that must include all of the following:

(a) the number of hours to be worked on each particular day of the week (the guaranteed hours); and

(b) the times at which the employee will start and finish work each particular day; and

(c) when meal breaks may be taken and their duration.

To record a Part Time employee's regular pattern of work in Tanda navigate to Workforce > Staff > (Employee Name) > Payroll > Regular Hours > Click Edit regular hours button:

Enter the applicable hours in the below fields including start and finish times, the team the employee will usually be working the regular hours in and meal breaks:

Working hours and teams:

Meal Breaks:

In addition to the above, if you enter the total contracted hours into the Minimum Base Hours field you can then receive flags in the roster warning when an employee has not been rostered for their total contracted hours:

Once all relevant contracted hours have been entered select Save and then on the following page select Update Employee Details.

If a Part Time employee then works outside the regular hours of work overtime rates will automatically apply to the employee's timesheet.

For example, please see the below employee with a regular pattern of work totalling 22.5 hours per week:

When this employee works beyond their regular hours on Tuesday overtime rates apply automatically:

Variation to the Regular Pattern of Work

The regular pattern of work for a Part Time employee can be varied by agreement per the below clauses under GRIA:

10.6 Changes to regular pattern of work by agreement

The employer and the employee may agree to vary the regular pattern of work agreed under clause 10.5 on a temporary or ongoing basis, with effect from a future date or time. Any such agreement must be recorded in writing:

(a) if the agreement is to vary the employee’s regular pattern of work for a particular rostered shift – before the end of the affected shift; and

(b) otherwise – before the variation takes effect.

NOTE 1: An agreement under clause 10.6 could be recorded in writing including through an exchange of emails, text messages or by other electronic means.

A variation to a Part Time employee's regular pattern of work can be recorded in Tanda.

The record of the agreement including the time it was agreed to can be captured in either of the below ways:

  • On the mobile app if the variation is known prior to the shift commencing; OR

  • On the employee time clock app when the variation is not yet agreed to prior to commencing the shift.

To use this feature please see Have employees mutually agree to variations from their contract hours which is an article that details how the shift acceptance feature can be enabled.

Once this feature has been enabled, a record of an agreement to vary the regular hours will be visible against the employee profile and on timesheets.

The shift tag that is available in the GRIA Managed Template that can be used to configure acceptance to a change to the agreed regular pattern of work is 'Accepted Shift Variation'.

To utilise this tag firstly save it to employee profiles of the applicable employees by navigating to Workforce > Staff > (Employee Name) > Payroll > under Additional Tags search for Accepted Shift Variation shift tag and save it to the employee profile:

Then this tag can be used in the configuration of a shift question as detailed here.

Alternatively, the shift tag can be applied to the timesheet using the Select Tag drop down field:

Before the application of the shift tag:

After the application of the shift tag:

The above is also how the shift tag will display in the timesheet if the tag is used in the configuration of a regular hours variation shift question.

Automation of 10 Hour Break Between Work Periods

Under clause 16.6 of GRIA an employee must receive a minimum break of 12 hours between shifts or be paid a penalty of 200%:

16.6 Breaks between work periods

(a) An employee must have a minimum break of 12 hours between when the employee finishes work on one day and starts work on the next.

(b) If an employee starts work again without having had 12 hours off work, the employer must pay the employee at the rate of 200% of the rate they would be entitled to until the employee has a break of 12 consecutive hours.

This 12 hour break and the corresponding penalty are automated via the below existing employment classifications in the GRIA Managed Template:

Day Workers

Shiftworkers (General)

Shiftworkers (Baking Production)

  • Apprentice

  • Full Time

  • Part Time

  • Casual

  • Casual - High School Student

  • Apprentice Shiftworker

  • Full Time Shiftworker

  • Part Time Shiftworker

  • Casual Shiftworker

  • Casual Shiftworker - High School Student

  • Apprentice Shiftworker - Baker

  • Full Time Shiftworker - Baker

  • Part Time Shiftworker - Baker

  • Casual Shiftworker - Baker

For example, if an employee is classified as Full Time, the penalty will apply in the below scenario as the required break is 12 hours:

As part of the upcoming update the ability to vary this 12 hour break to 10 hours as outlined under clause 16.6(d) has been automated:

(d) The employer and an individual employee or a group of employees may agree that clause 16.6 is to have effect as if it provided for a minimum break of 10 hours.

The new employment classifications that will be available to automate this clause are:

Day Workers

Shiftworkers (General)

Shiftworkers (Baking Production)

  • Apprentice (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Full Time (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Part Time (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Casual (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Casual - High School Student (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Apprentice Shiftworker (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Full Time Shiftworker (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Part Time Shiftworker (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Casual Shiftworker (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Casual Shiftworker - High School Student (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Apprentice Shiftworker - Baker (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Full Time Shiftworker - Baker (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Part Time Shiftworker - Baker (10 Hours Agreed)

  • Casual Shiftworker - Baker (10 Hours Agreed)

If an employee is set up with one of the above employment classifications in Tanda, when they do not receive a 10 hour break between shifts the employee will automatically receive the penalty.

For example, this employee is classified as Full Time (10 Hours Agreed) and as only a 9 hour gap was received the shift gap penalty applies:

However, if the employee receives the required break of 10 hours no penalty applies:

'Less Than 10 Hours Between Shifts (By Agreement)' Still Available

For ad hoc agreements to reduce the break between shifts to 10 hours under clause 16.6(d) the shift tag 'Less Than 10 Hours Between Shifts (By Agreement)' will still available in the GRIA Managed Template.

This shift tag is only applicable to employees that have been classified to require a 12 hour break between shifts. These classifications are outlined here.

To use this shift tag save it to the employee profile first. This can be done by navigating to Workforce > Staff > (Employee Name) > Payroll > under Additional Tags search for 'Less Than 10 Hours Between Shifts (By Agreement)' > add this tag to this field and then select Update Employee Details in the bottom left hand corner.

Then when the agreement is applicable add this to the employee timesheet via the shift tag drop down. Please see the below example of the shift tag in operation:

Before the application of the shift tag:

After the application of the shift tag:

If you have an agreement in place for a reduced break between shifts and would like to utilise these new classifications available in Tanda you can either reclassify your staff via the Employee Profile or use the Bulk actions tool.

Please see below for further details.

Re-Classifying Staff via the Employee Profile To Utilise the New Classifications

To change in the Employee Profile navigate to Workforce > Staff > (Employee Name) > Payroll > Under Employment Type change the classification to the new one required.

For example, to change an employee previously classified as Part Time to Part Time (10 Hours Agreed) select the below tag:

Once the set up has been finalised click Update Employee Details in the bottom left hand corner of the screen.

Re-Classifying Staff via the Bulk Actions Tool

If there are several employees to be reclassified you may wish to utilise the Bulk Actions Tool.

To use this tool navigate to Workforce > Staff > select the Tools drop-down in the top right hand corner > Bulk actions:

From here you can filter employees by their Teams or Award Tags and then add and remove certain tags from their profiles.

Please see the Bulk Categorised Staff article for a step by step guide on how to do this.

Updating Existing Leave Types with the New Classifications

Once you have reclassified staff with any of the above new classifications you will need then need to ensure that these classifications have been set up against any existing leave types.

To view the existing leave types in your Tanda account navigate to Leave > Leave Types:

The Leave Request Types in your account will now display.

Any Leave Request Types configured to apply to All Staff will not require updating. The Leave Request Types that have been configured to apply to certain employment types may require updating if these leave types should be applicable to all staff that are engaged, for example, on a full time basis.

The Leave Request Types that have only been mapped to certain employment types can be identified via the Applies to column:

To update a Leave Request Type with any or all of the new employment types click on the Name of the leave type. Under Leave applies to:

Then select the new employment classifications you would like the leave type to be applicable to. In the below example, all the new full time employment types have been selected:

Once you have finished updating the leave type than click the Update leave type button at the bottom of the page.

Editing a Leave Type can affect unlocked timesheets and associated Leave Requests. Ensure to review these carefully before a change is saved.

For more information about leave in Tanda please see the Managing Leave Balances article.

Inadequate Break Between Work Periods Penalty Now Stacked

Clause 16.6(b) outlines that the 200% penalty is payable if an employee does not receive the required break between shifts:

16.6 Breaks between work periods

(b) If an employee starts work again without having had 12 hours off work, the employer must pay the employee at the rate of 200% of the rate they would be entitled to until the employee has a break of 12 consecutive hours.

This 200% penalty is to be paid in addition to any applicable penalty rates, overtime or casual loading. This makes this penalty a stackable penalty.

Additional award rules have been added to the GRIA Managed Template to pay this penalty at stacked rates.

For example, if an employee starts work the next morning without the required 12 hour break between shifts and this shift commences outside the span of ordinary hours, the break between shifts penalty will be paid in conjunction with overtime for working outside the span:

Export Code Updates

Depending on your payroll software you may need to configure new export codes in your GRIA Managed Template due to there being new multipliers available in order to automate these stacked penalties.

This will not be required for Xero and MYOB AccountRight Live users. The new export codes will be synced to Xero or MYOB AccountRight Live upon export of the first finalised pay period after these changes have taken effect.

If you use different payroll software you may need to configure export codes for these new multipliers and match them to export codes in your payroll software.

Once the updates are live, navigate to Compliance > click Manage against the General Retail Industry Managed Template:

On the right hand side navigate to Payroll Configuration > click Configure for payroll:

This will take you to a new page where you can populate both primary and secondary export codes if required for any new multipliers. Any existing export codes that have been set up will still be configured.

For example, the below Payroll Configuration Report shows that there are several export codes already configured but that for the overtime multiplier of 2.75x a new export code needs to be configured:

Overtime for Working Over 10 Days in a Fortnight Now Automated

The GRIA Managed Template will contain automatic overtime rules for when an employee works over 10 ordinary hour days in a two week period per clause 15.7(b) & (c):

15.7 Rostering arrangements

...

(b) The employer must not roster an employee to work ordinary hours on more than 5 days per week, except as provided by clause 15.7(c).

(c) The employer may roster an employee to work ordinary hours on 6 days in one week if the employee is rostered to work ordinary hours on no more than 4 days in the following week.

The employee can be rostered to work 6 days one week as long as they only work 4 days the following week. If the employee works more than 4 days the following week overtime will automatically apply in the timesheet:

Award rule description:

Overtime for Not Receiving the Required Consecutive Days Off Now Automated

The GRIA Managed Template will contain automatic overtime rules for when an employee does not receive 2 consecutive days off per week or 3 consecutive days off in two weeks per clause 15.7(d)(i):

15.7 Rostering arrangements

(d) Consecutive days off

(i) The employer must roster an employee to work ordinary hours in such a way that they have 2 consecutive days off per week or 3 consecutive days off per 2 week cycle.

If the employee does not receive the required consecutive days off overtime will automatically apply in the timesheet. For example, in the below timesheet the employee did not have 2 consecutive days off in the first week or 3 consecutive days off in the second week resulting in overtime applying to the fourth shift in the second week.

This is because once the shift on Friday 23 December has commenced it is no longer possible for the employee to have the required consecutive days off in this period:

Award rule description:

For agreements under clause 15.7(d)(ii) please see the Consecutive Days Off IFA section of the GRIA Managed Template Guide for more information.

Overtime for Working 6 Consecutive Days Now Automated

The GRIA Managed Template will contain automatic overtime rules for when an employee works more than 6 consecutive days per clause 15.7(e):

15.7 Rostering arrangements

(e) Consecutive days of work

The maximum number of consecutive days on which an employee may work (whether ordinary hours or reasonable additional hours) is 6.

If an employee works more than 6 consecutive days overtime will automatically apply in the timesheet:

Award rule description:

'TOIL' Shift Tag Now Available

The GRIA Managed Template will contain Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) functionality per clause 21.3 of the Award:

21.3 Time off instead of payment for overtime

(a) An employee and employer may agree in writing to the employee taking time off instead of being paid for a particular amount of overtime that has been worked by the employee.

(b) The period of time off that an employee is entitled to take is equivalent to the overtime payment that would have been made.

EXAMPLE: By making an agreement under clause 21.3 an employee who worked 2 overtime hours at the rate of 150% is entitled to 3 hours' time off.

When an employee has an agreement with their employer that overtime worked can be accrued as a time off equivalent for the amount for which payment would otherwise have been made, they are agreeing to TOIL.

When looking in the timesheet, the shift must be tagged as ‘TOIL’ so that the time off is accrued instead of overtime being paid out. This is done the same way as applying a shift tag.

To utilise this functionality the applicable TOIL shift tags need to be saved to the employee profile:

Once the shift tag has been saved to the employee profile it can be applied to the timesheet when an employee works overtime. Please see the below example.

Before the application of a TOIL shift tag:

After the application of a TOIL shift tag:

For further details on the operation of TOIL in the GRIA Managed Template please see here.

Changes to Allowances

New automated allowances will be added to the GRIA Managed Template. Please see below for further details.

'Travelling Time' Allowance Now Available Via Shift Tag

Clause 19.5 of GIRA has now been implemented within the Tanda Managed Template:

19.5 Travelling time reimbursement

(a) Clause 19.5 applies to an employee who on any day is required to work at a place other than their usual place of work.

(b) The employer must pay the employee at their ordinary rate of pay (or at 150% of that rate on a Sunday or public holiday) for time spent travelling both ways between the employee’s residence (or, if the employer provides transport from a pick up point, between that pick up point) and the other place of work in excess of the time normally spent in travelling to and from their usual place of work.

To use the allowance add the shift tag 'Travelling Time' to the employee profile via the Allowances/ Penalties dropdown field:

To use the tag split the time in the timesheet or have the employee clock their travelling time separate from the time worked in store:

Then apply the 'Travelling Time' shift tag to the relevant travel periods:

Through the application of the 'Travelling Time' shift tag, the time spent travelling will not contribute to daily and period hours worked totals.

The 'Travelling Time' tag will also apply the rate of 50% for time spent travelling on Sunday and Public Holidays as outlined by clause 19.5(b):

First Aid Allowance Per Week Rate Now Available

The weekly rate for the First Aid Allowance as outlined under clause 19.10(b) of GRIA will be automated within the managed template:

19.10 First aid allowance

(a) Clause 19.10 applies to an employee who:

(i) has a current first aid qualification from St John Ambulance Australia or a similar body; and

(ii) is appointed by the employer to perform first aid duty.

(b) The employer must pay the employee an allowance of $12.23 per week.

To set up the allowance to automatically pay navigate to the employee profile and save the tag First Aid Certificate Weekly to the employee profile via the Allowances/ Penalties dropdown field:

Once the tag has been saved to the profile the allowance will apply to the first worked shift of the week:

'Recall' Allowance Now Available Via Shift Tag

The recall allowance as outlined under clause 19.11 of GRIA will be added to the managed template:

19.11 Recall allowance

(a) Clause 19.11 applies to an employee who for any reason is recalled to work by the employer to perform specific duties on a day on which they:

(i) have completed their normal roster; or

(ii) did not work.

(b) Unless otherwise agreed between the employer and the employee, the employer must pay the employee at the appropriate rate of pay for whichever of the following is the greater:

(i) the time between when the employee leaves their place of residence until they return there;

(ii) 3 hours.

To use the allowance add the tag 'Recall' to the employee profile via the Allowances/ Penalties dropdown field:

When an employee is recalled apply the Recall tag against the hours the employee worked in the timesheet:

Before the application of the shift tag:

After the application of the shift tag:

The recall tag will also automatically apply the 3 hour minimum engagement as outlined under clause 19.11(b)(ii) when required:

As the clause requires that an employee be paid at the "appropriate rate of pay", the applicable automated penalties and overtime conditions will apply when the Recall tag is applied. Please see the below example of the 'After 6pm Penalty' applying during recall:

Liquor Licence Allowance Export Code Updated

The default export code for the Liquor Licence Allowance will be updated as part of the changes to the GRIA Managed Template.

If you use Xero and MYOB AccountRight Live no action is required as a new pay item will be created when the allowance is next exported.

If you have created custom export codes in Tanda via the Payroll Configuration Report for the above allowances these export codes will remain the same.

The 'District Allowance - Broken Hill' is Now Available

The District Allowance - Broken Hill will be available under the GRIA Managed Template per clause 19.13:

19.13 Broken Hill

The employer must pay an employee at a workplace within the County of Yancowinna in New South Wales (Broken Hill) an allowance of $1.06 per hour.

To have this allowance automatically apply in the timesheet, first save the tag 'Broken Hill Allowance' to the Employee Profile via the Allowances/ Penalties dropdown field:

Once the tag has been saved the allowance will apply per hour worked:

Further Information

Further communications will be sent out once the above changes are live in Tanda.

These changes are currently set to take effect in mid-January 2023.

If you have any questions regarding the above including how to implement these changes, please contact our support team via live chat or email (support@tanda.co).

For further information on this Award please see General Retail Industry Award 2020.

For further information on the Tanda GRIA Managed Template please see the Managed Template Summary Guide.

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