- Casual
- Weekly
- Factory
- Touring
- Other
Overview
It is MPH policy that:
- The Live Performance Award (“the Award”) is applied to Working Times as a minimum; and
- Employees, Managers and Supervisors schedule work in line with the Award and our Fatigue Management policy; and
- All staff understand when and where their workday starts and ends; and
- All staff are guided by the Working Times policies and ask questions when unsure.
Employment classification
All MPH employees are employed under the Live Performance Award as Production and Support Staff – Sound and/or lighting and may be engaged as:
- Factory, Touring or Other production and support staff classification; and
- On a Weekly or Casual employment basis
See the Payment for work | Employment basis and classification policy for details and definitions.
Hours of work
The live entertainment industry – and thus MPH Australia – operates 24/7, 365 days a year. This often means working hours outside what are commonly considered regular working hours for other industries (eg. 9 to 5, Monday to Friday).
Work in the industry is often scheduled on weekends and public holidays and many employees will be scheduled to work on those days and be offered overtime.
The Award
The federal government, via the Modern Awards scheme (administered by the Fair Work Commission), define documents that set out the minimum terms and conditions of employment on top of the National Employment Standards (NES).
MPH operates in the Live Performance industry and thus all employees are covered by the Live Performance Award, which covers all roles in the live performance industry, for example; technicians, production assistants, dancers, comedians, bookkeepers, performance roller skaters, call centre staff, tailors, DJs and many more.
Modern awards provide entitlements such as pay, hours of work, rosters, breaks, allowances, penalty rates and overtime. These areas are defined in MPH employment contracts and policies – all other requirements MPH has on employees are covered by our policies, Principles-of, standards, processes, and training.
MPH’s policies around Working Times are “distilled” from the Award to be relevant to MPH staff. They are the requirements of our workplace and are not negotiable.
It’s complicated!
Working times, salaries and wages are enormously complex due to the legal frameworks the company is required to operate in, considerations for what’s safe, practical, and fair for employees – and what’s right for the company.
No section of these policies can be read in isolation, it’s all connected.
We’ve obtained extensive legal advice to interpret the Award and to “fill in the gaps” where the Award or other relevant legal framework is lacking. In those situations, we have set policy that considers our legal advice, and what the company considers to be safe and fair.
If an issue is identified with our interpretation of the Award or we face an unacknowledged edge case, we commit to discussing it with employees, to seeking professional advice and providing clarification or correction.