While having an entitlement written in your Enterprise Agreement (EA) or in an official policy should be enough to guarantee you receive it, sometimes it’s not enough to stop management from making dodgy decisions that deny employees what they’re due.
That was the case for staff in various teams at National Australia Bank. They were told they would no longer be paid overtime and instead would receive time off in lieu (TOIL), which ultimately resulted in less money in their pockets.
However, thanks to a few FSU members at NAB being familiar with their EA, staff were able to push back and ultimately reverse management’s decision.
Under the NAB EA, staff have the option of either receiving overtime or taking TOIL if they are required to work overtime.
“As part of our team, it’s a necessity for us to sometimes work on weekends because we support a 24-hour application,” said one FSU member at NAB.
“Under previous management, it was never an issue – we’d log the time we worked and that was it.”
That all changed, however, when new management decided that staff would only be given TOIL if they worked overtime.
“The difference is that TOIL was one hour of pay for one hour of work, whereas overtime was paid with a penalty rate.”
Initially, staff went to management to discuss how they believed their entitlement was supposed to be applied.
“We were given excuses and told to wait, then we were told that this was how it was going to be for now and that they were looking into it.
“Basically, they were kicking the can down the road until the end of the project.
“It was really upsetting and frustrating.”
By this point, some staff members had already contacted the FSU to obtain initial advice.
“The union told us that the best way to escalate the matter was to form a group and align ourselves so we’d have more collective power.
“So we all started talking to each other, explaining to all our colleagues the situation, and asking whether people wanted to have a meeting with the union.”
On behalf of our members, the FSU then wrote to senior management, outlining how the EA should be applied and requesting that the issue be rectified.
After more delay tactics, management finally informed staff that paid overtime would be reinstated. Promisingly, employees can also cash out their TOIL, which is paid at the correct penalty rate, as per the EA entitlement.
On the outcome, the member said they were still hopeful that management would provide “some admission that they did the wrong thing”.
“We were feeling pretty lost and isolated in the beginning, and without a doubt we wouldn’t have got this outcome without the union stepping in.
“We were able to expedite the process much faster, and all in all we’re happy with what the union was able to achieve for us.”
For this member, the key learning from this experience was how important it was for staff to work collectively.
“In situations like this, the union has more power and influence to ensure people are treated correctly according to our agreements if we all work together.
“Not only that, it ensures future agreements are fairer and less weighted towards the employer.”
It also demonstrates that it pays to know your entitlements and be familiar with your agreement. FSU members can view their EA on our website – and if in doubt about anything, contact our Member Rights Centre on 1300 366 378 or email [email protected].
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