New provisions for casual council workers in WA have come into effect.

Variations to the Local Government Industry Award 2010 took effect on Monday, and will have an immediate effect on Local Governments who are covered by the LGIA 2010 as well as those who incorporate the terms of the LGIA 2010 into their enterprise agreements.

The WA Local Government Association says that to prepare for the changes, Local Governments need to consider:

  • reviewing the current casual arrangements in place, including length of service and length of rostered shifts across the organisation
  • determining which groups of employees are likely to be affected by the proposed minimum engagement periods, such as umpires, group fitness instructors, community service employees and cleaners
  • implementing a project plan and consultation process for affected work areas to prevent casual employees being rostered for less than two hours, which may include provision of additional duties to make up the minimum time period
  • undertaking a consultation process with long term regular casual employees to discuss converting to part-time employment if that is a strategy the Local Government would like to adopt. In accordance with the LGIA the Local Government will need to stipulate the hours and days of work for part-time employees in writing
  • undertaking financial modelling on how the two clauses to be added into the LGIA may affect your budget, operations and service delivery