Minimum Call Times
- Casual
- Weekly
- Factory
- Touring
- Other
A Minimum Call Time is the shortest period for which an employee can be scheduled or called in for a single shift.
Minimum Call Time is set by the Award and the length of the MCT varies by employment basis (Weekly vs Casual)
Under the LPA, Minimum Call Times apply when:
- The employee is rostered off (such as on an RDO); and
- The employee is called in to perform work; and
- The employee agrees to attend and performs the work; and
- The employee is willing and available to complete the full call period
Minimum Call Times provisions always apply, regardless of the reason for the call-in but some stipulations apply to whether or not the Minimum Call Time is paid, as outlined in the Payment for Minimum Call Times section of this policy.
Weekly employees
- Weekly
- Factory
- Touring
- Other
The Minimum Call Time for Weekly employees is four consecutive hours (4h).
See also: Payment for Minimum Call Times
Casual employees
- Casual
- Factory
- Touring
The Minimum Call Time for Casual employees is three consecutive hours (3h).
See also: Payment for Minimum Call Times
Payment for Minimum Call Times
- Casual
- Weekly
- Factory
- Touring
- Other
If an employee is called in or scheduled to work and works less than the minimum call, they are still paid the full Minimum Call — unless they refuse to stay or complete additional work.
Managers take steps to ensure that employees being paid for a Minimum Call are assigned duties for the entirety of the call time. However, at times, managers will consider it reasonable for staff to end their shift prior to them working the full call time, such as when a load-out or truck load is completed faster than expected and there is no further expectation to complete additional duties.
Some examples,
👉🏽 Weekly employee Noah was rostered to work for 4 hours and worked 4 hours.
As a Weekly employee, the applicable MCT is 4h so, Noah is paid for 4h.
👉🏽 Weekly employee Quinn was rostered to work for 4 hours but the required work was completed in 3-hours, and the company had no further work for him to undertake.
Quinn’s manager knocks him off after 3h.
A note is left in Quinn’s timesheet by his manager that the MCT applies and a manual adjustment is made (by the Payroll Officer) to Quinn’s hours to show he worked for 4 hours (even though he only worked 3h). This means Quinn is paid correctly.
👉🏽 Casual employee Bo was rostered to work for 3 hours and while the required work was completed in 2 hours there’s some cleaning that can be done for the last hour. Bo and his supervisor agree that since the cleaning isn’t essential, Bo can leave early but Bo understands that she’s declining the offer to work and will only be paid for the 2h of work completed.
For the purpose of calculating Maximum Working Periods, actual hours worked are used – not Minimum Call Times.
Maximum Working Periods
- Weekly
- Factory
- Touring
- Other
What are Maximum Working Periods?
Maximum Working Times describe when employees work excessively long shifts or sustained long working hours.
When the Maximum Working Times threshold is reached or exceeded, mitigating steps are taken to provide employees with time off to rest and regenerate 🪴
These working extremes only apply in extenuating circumstances, for some staff, in some situations.
The company works to minimise excessive work hours whenever possible and examines the reasons why excessive hours occurred and how to circumvent a similar situation in future.
Exclusions
Maximum Working Periods are calculated from clocked-on hours only. Some duties may be paid, but do not contribute to Maximum Working Periods.
Excluded from Maximum Working Times calculations are:
- The hours not worked of a Minimum Call Time
- The gap in between a Split Shift
- Tour Day Off
- Tour Travel Day (but the travel hours count)
- RDOs, Rest Days, and Leave (paid and unpaid)
- Paid Standdown
Mitigation strategies
Weekly employees | Rest Days
- Weekly
- Factory
- Touring
Weekly employees are provided Rest Days if they work more than a certain number of hours in a fortnight, per the Maximum Working Periods table below. Mitigation is applied when Maximum Working Periods are reached.
A Rest Day is a paid day off from work, paid at the Contract Hourly Rate, scheduled in the roster and the Disconnect from Work policy applies.
Rest Days never replace RDOs (that is, they are in addition to RDOs, when RDOs aren’t worked).
Rest Days cannot accrue – they must be taken as prescribed as they are intended to mitigate fatigue build-up.
Maximum Working Periods
| Accrual Type | Period | Conditions | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rest Day | Two consecutive calendar weeks (one fortnight) | 130 hours worked in a fortnight | For each 5h over 130h worked, one Rest Day accrues and must be assigned in the next fortnight. |
| Quarterly Rest Day | Yearly calendar quarter | Average of 50 hours per week worked. | For each 5h over the average, a Rest Day is provided in the month following the end of the quarter. |
Tracking Maximum Working Periods
When employees are onboarded to work for MPH, a spreadsheet is created to track Maximum Working Periods. Managers use these spreadsheets to see when Rest Days are owed and apply this policy.
Employees have access to their own spreadsheet.
Weekly employee Rest Days example fortnight
| Week | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | Total Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10h | 14h | 16h | 14h | 10h | 11h | 5h | 80h |
| 2 | 8h | 9h | 12h | 12h | 8h | 11h | RDO | 60.0h |
| 140h (13 days) |
Outcome:
| Week | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT | SUN | Total Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8h | 9h | 10h | 12h | 8h | 5h | RDO | 58.0h |
| 4 | REST DAY | REST DAY | 7.6h | 7.6h | 7.6h | RDO | RDO | 30.4h |
| 88.4 (10 days) |
- In Week 1 and 2 this Weekly employee worked a total of 140h over 13 days
- For each 5h over 130h, they earn one Rest Day so, this employee earned two Rest Days
- In Week 3 this employee was still on the same Job and worked a 52h week
- In Week 4, they receive the two Rest Days they earned and also have their two standard RDOs, working a total of only 22.8h for the Week. The Weekly employee is still paid for 38h in this week as Rest Days are a paid day off.
The additional hours worked in all weeks are added to the employee’s offset spreadsheet to check their salary paid vs hours worked, and additional payment may still apply.
Weekly employee Rest Days accrued per quarter example
| Q1 (JAN – MAR) | Q2 (APR – JUN) | Q3 (JUL – SEP) | Q4 (OCT – DEC) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hours worked | 624h | 559h | 653.25h | 718.25h |
| Weeks worked | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| Quarter average | 48h | 43h | 50.25h | 55.25h |
| Rest Days accrued | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Based on the quarterly averages, this employee would receive:
- One Rest Day to be scheduled in Oct; and
- Two Rest Days to be scheduled in Jan.
These are in addition to any Fortnightly Rest Days earned during these periods.