Salaries
Weekly Touring employee salaries
- Weekly
- Touring
At minimum, Weekly Touring salaries are calculated based on a 38h per week at the Base Award Rate (plus the special overtime and penalty provisions of 17.5% per clause 63.6(a) in the Award) per hour (for their level).
However, Weekly Touring salaries are typically paid above the Award minimum with remuneration set to include payment for some overtime.
The Offset Payments section applies when calculating salary paid vs hours worked against the Award minimum.
Weekly Factory employee salaries
- Weekly
- Factory
At minimum, Weekly Factory salaries are calculated based on 38h per week at the Base Award Rate per hour (for their level).
Factory employees are not entitled to paid overtime under the Award but TOIL (time off in lieu) instead; every one hour of overtime is equal to one hour of pay at the Contract Hourly Rate.
Weekly Factory employees may be given the option when being contracted to sign an Individual Flexibility Arrangement (IFA) to be paid for overtime worked, instead of receiving TOIL.
See the Individual Flexibility Arrangements section of this policy.
Other production and support staff salaries
- Weekly
- Other
At minimum, Other production and support staff salaries are calculated based on 38h per week at the Base Award Rate per hour (for their level).
However, OPSS salaries are typically paid above the Award minimum with remuneration set to include payment for some overtime.
The Offset Payments section applies when calculating salary paid vs hours worked against the Award minimum. When calculating offsets, the rates specified in the Other Production and Support Staff section of the Fair Work pay guide apply.
Setting employee salaries
- Weekly
- Touring
- Factory
- Other
The company sets salary ranges for each employment level to ensure fair and equal pay for all employees.
These rates reflect only the base salary and do not consider the full remuneration package, which may include additional negotiated benefits; such as
- Bonuses
- Allowances
- A company vehicle
- Additional Superannuation
- Additional Leave Entitlements
Employees are never paid at a higher salary range until they have met the requisite skills for a higher-level position.
All MPH salaries meet or exceed the Minimum Award Rate for each level.
| Award Classification | MPH Classification | Position held | Salary range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Newby | Induction / Trainee | Base Award Rates |
| Level 2 | MPH Level 2 | Assistant | Base Award Rates |
| Level 3 | MPH Level 3 (trainee) | Trainee Technician | Up to $55,000 |
| Level 4 | MPH Level 3 | Technician | $55,001 – $70,000 |
| Level 5 | MPH Level 2 | Senior Technician; or Coordinator | $ 70,001 – $ 100,000 |
| Level 7 | MPH Level 1 | Supervisor | $ 100,001 – $ 120,000 |
| Technical Manager (“Level 9”) | n/a | Manager | $ 120,001 – $ 164,000 |
| n/a | n/a | Executive | At or above the high-income threshold |
** Part-time employee salaries are pro rata based on the above.
Payment for Overtime
- Weekly
- Touring
- Factory
- Other
All employees are financially compensated within the Award for overtime however, how overtime is accounted for varies by employment classification.
| Touring employees | Factory employees | Other production and support staff |
|---|---|---|
| Touring employees are not paid special rates based on the time of day, hours worked in a given period or paid differently on certain days (Penalties – Public Holidays, Sundays).
Instead, a special overtime and penalty provision (63.6(a)) is added to the hourly rate for all hours worked. Therefore, overtime is calculated at the Base Award Rate plus 17.5%. Hours worked vs Salary paid is tracked and offset payments may apply. |
Weekly Factory TOIL employees (no IFA);
All hours worked over 38h in a week, accrue 1:1 TOIL, paid at the applicable Contract Hourly Rate. Weekly Factory IFA employees; Paid overtime per the signed IFA. |
If remuneration set to include some overtime: Hours worked vs Salary paid tracked and offset payments may apply. If paid at Award rates: |
Offset payments
- Weekly
- Touring
- Other
An offset payment is an extra amount added to a salaried employee’s pay if their fortnightly hours and earnings fall below the minimum Award requirements.
If an employee works more hours than their salary covers, an offset payment ensures they are paid at least the Award minimum.
This is tracked in an “offset tracking” spreadsheet, which employees can access after onboarding. Each fortnight, the Payroll Officer records the hours worked and calculates any necessary offset payments.
If an employee is overpaid one week and underpaid the next, these can balance out within the same fortnight.
Offsets are calculated every fortnight:
-
If the employee is overpaid: The extra amount isn’t carried over or repaid.
-
If the employee is underpaid: The shortfall is paid in the next pay run after the fortnight ends.
Salaried employees are given read-only access to their Offset Calculator but may also request a copy of the unlocked version to review formulas and locked data.
For the purpose of calculating offsets, the following is considered time worked:
- Work hours actually worked
- Tour Day Off
- 7.6h counted if the employee is On-Call
- Does not count toward maximum working times
- Tour Travel Day
- 7.6h counted if the employee is On-Call
- Does not count toward maximum working times
- Tour Travel Hours
- Time counted: 60m before Actual Time of Departure to 30m after arrival (landed) time
- Counts toward maximum working times
- The hours worked of a Minimum Call Time
Example –
Offset calculation for Sam (full-time touring employee)
Sam’s Base Award Rate is $31.19/hour, which equals $1,185.22 for a standard 38-hour week.
However, due to his expertise, Sam is paid $44.03/hour under contract — $1,673.08 per week — which is $487.86 more than the Award rate.
Over a two-week period, Sam works 111.3 hours (Week 1: 59.67h, Week 2: 51.63h). Based on the Base Award Rate, his minimum pay should be:
-
Week 1: 59.67h × $31.19 = $1,861.11
-
Week 2: 51.63h × $31.19 = $1,610.34
Comparing this to his fixed weekly pay ($1,673.08):
-
Week 1: $1,673.08 – $1,861.11 = –$188.03 (underpayment)
-
Week 2: $1,673.08 – $1,610.34 = +$62.74 (overpayment)
Net offset for the fortnight:
–$188.03 + $62.74 = –$125.29
Sam is owed $125.29 to meet the minimum Award requirement.
This offset ensures he is never underpaid.
Consider these further examples for Sam’s subsequent weeks;
| Base Award Rate | Contract Hourly Rate | Hours actually worked in a week | Minimum weekly payment due | Fixed Wages Paid | Overpayment relative to Base Award Rate | Underpayment relative to Base Award Rate | Offset to pay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 3 | $31.19 | $44.03 | 38.00h | $1,185.22 | $1,673.08 | $487.86 | $0 | $0 |
| Week 4 | $31.19 | $44.03 | 41.67h | $1,299.68 | $1,673.08 | $373.39 | $0 | $0 |
| Week 5 | $31.19 | $44.03 | 38.25h | $1,193.01 | $1,673.08 | $480.07 | $0 | $0 |
| Week 6 | $31.19 | $44.03 | 73.08h | $2,279.37 | $1,673.08 | $0 | -$606.29 | $126.22 |
- In Week 3, Sam worked a “standard” 38h week and was paid $487.86 above the Base Award Rate.
- In Week 4, Sam worked 3.67h over the 38h requirement, and was paid $373.39 above the Base Award Rate. No offset is owed for the pay period.
- In Week 5, Sam worked 15m over the 38h requirement, and was paid $480.07 above the Base Award Rate.
- In Week 6, Sam worked 35.08h over the required 38h, and would have been underpaid $606.29 relative to the Base Award Rate. The overpayment of $480.07 from Week 5 is applied against the underpayment in Week 6 ($606.29 – $480.07) and $126.22 is made as an Offset Payment.
Individual Flexibility Arrangements
- Weekly
- Factory
An Individual Flexibility Arrangement (IFA) is a written agreement between an employer and employee to change the effect of certain clauses in the Award. What can be varied is covered by Clause 5 of the LPA and IFA cannot be used to reduce or remove an employee’s entitlements; an IFA should result in the employee being better off overall.
An IFA may be offered with an initial Contract of Employment for new employees but can be offered at any stage during an employee’s employment.
Employees are never required to sign an IFA and if an IFA is accepted, it can be cancelled by either party with 13 weeks’ notice.
More information can be found at https://www.fairwork.gov.au/employment-conditions/flexibility-in-the-workplace/individual-flexibility-arrangements.
Weekly Factory employees and IFAs
- Weekly
- Factory
MPH may offer a Weekly Factory employee the option to sign an IFA to vary clause 63.6(b) of the LPA.
In this context the IFA provides by agreement that Weekly Factory employees will be paid overtime and penalties as specified in the IFA instead of accruing Time Off in Lieu.
The IFA specifies the applicable rates at either 1.5x or 2.0x the Base Award Rate depending on when the overtime is worked.
The rates in these IFAs are always applied as follows:
1.5x Base Award Rate
- Overtime – Daily (more than 10h, first 2h)
- Overtime – Weekly (more than 38h)
- Penalty – Daily (work on an RDO, first 4h)
2.0x Base Award Rate
- Overtime – Daily (more than 12h)
- Penalty – Daily (work on an RDO, after 4h)
- Penalty – Work on a Public Holiday
Understanding clause 63.6 in the LPA
Clause 63.6 in the Award sets special overtime and penalty provisions for the employees of sound and/or lighting companies and, the provision differs between Touring and Factory employees.
63.6(a) Touring employees
- Weekly
- Touring
The intent of the special overtime and penalty provision is to acknowledge that Touring employees do not typically work “standard” working hours (eg. MON – FRI, 9am to 5pm) and work may be performed any day of the week, at any time of day and that work is frequently performed on Public Holidays.
This provision provides for Touring employees to be paid a higher rate on all hours, regardless of the time of day or day of the week worked, to allow for the necessary flexibility.
63.6(b) Factory employees
- Weekly
- Factory
This clause removes the right for Weekly Factory sound and/or lighting employees to be paid for overtime, instead providing a provision that 1hr of overtime is equal to 1h of time off (at the Contract Hourly Rate).
Factory employees may be offered an IFA to vary this Clause of the Award.