Policy and Procedure Statement

SOP 4.0 – T – Management of excess hours

Relevant TAO Ordinance No. / Management of Excess Hours
Relevant State/Federal Govt. Legislation / State Service Act 2000
Tasmanian State Service Award
Tasmanian Audit Office and CPSU Hours of Work Agreement 2016
Commencement Date / 01 June 2016
Review Date / 30 June 2019

POLICY AND PROCEDURE STATEMENT

1  Statement of Support

This procedure provides the procedures that staff and management will follow in the management of excess hours pursuant to the Tasmanian Audit Office and CPSU Hours of Work Agreement 2016 (the Agreement).

2  Scope

Procedure applies to all employees working within the Tasmanian Audit Office (TAO) who are required to perform hours in excess of their normal working hours during peak periods in the Audit cycle. It also applies to supervisors delegated with the power to approve time sheets and to manage accumulation of excess hours.

This procedure operates during the peak period being 1 July to 31 October of each year. Outside of this period the Tasmanian State Service Award provisions will apply.

3  Definitions and Acronyms

Procedure Maker / Committee or Senior officer responsible for Standard Operational Procedure development.
Hours / Hours worked on a time for time basis, unless otherwise stated.
Excess Hours / Hours in excess of normal working hours.
Authorised Officer / Those TAO staff that have direct supervisory responsibilities as per the Organisational Chart.
ILOT / ILOT stands for In Lieu of Time. This represents time accumulated over and above 10 hours for which employees in conjunction with management can accrue as determined under the Hours of Work Agreement 2016
Excess Hours Management Plan / Plan developed, in accordance with template at Attachment 1, detailing expected levels of excess hours to be accrued and expenditure of those hours.
Procedure Maker / Chief Operating Officer (COO) on behalf of the Strategic Executive Management Group (SEMG)

4  Procedure Maker

SEMG

5  Procedures

5.1  Employees of a business unit in the TAO are not eligible to participate in an excess hours worked arrangement according to the Agreement unless with prior written approval of the respective Authorised Officer.

5.2  When requesting an employee to work additional hours or when approving an employee’s request to work additional hours Authorised Officers must give due consideration to the Workload Management and Work-Life Balance provisions of Part V of the TSSA. Whereby Authorised Officers deny an employee’s request to work additional hours due to these reasons, these must be documented and held on the Office’s electronic record keeping system, TRIM.

5.3  An employee who intends to work or is requested to work hours outside or in excess of the ordinary hours of work must obtain or be provided with approval in advance and in writing from the appropriate Authorised Officer. An Authorised Officer and employee are to ensure that the employee does not to work in excess of 10 hours per day, or outside of the ordinary span of hours of work, without approval. Where approval has been given the Authorised Officer and employee are to ensure the employee does not work more than eight hours on the following day nor more than 55 hours in any given week or more than seven consecutive days.

5.4  Approval to work in excess of the ordinary hours of work should in the first instance be sought from the Authorised Officer, or a person acting in that role. The preferred ways to contact Authorised Officers are face to face, email, text message or phone call. Except when on leave, Authorised Officers are expected to be available to respond to reasonable requests from staff. When the Authorised Officer cannot be contacted the staff member should escalate their request to the following, in the order listed:

·  Assistant Auditor-General or Director responsible for the respective business unit (hereafter referred to as ‘business unit head’)

·  Chief Operating Officer.

In rare cases where none of the above can be reached then, provided the staff member can demonstrate that reasonable attempts have been made to contact the Authorised Officer and all others listed, they should use their discretion. In the case of the latter, the staff member should subsequently advise the Authorised Officer.

5.5  Where approval has been given for an employee to work in excess of their usual standard working hours in any given week, the excess time will be accumulated on a time for time basis and will be called excess hours worked according to the terms of the Agreement. On 1 November the balance of accumulated hours will adjusted as per the agreement on the basis of one-and-a-quarter (1:1.25) hours for each hour accumulated during the period 1 July to 31 October. In all other periods, normal award provisions will apply.

5.6  The planned amount of excess hours to be worked for the period 1 July to 31 October must be determined between the Authorised Officer and the employee by the 31 May of that year. A written leave management plan will then detail the estimated amount of hours that is expected to be worked and when those excess hours will be taken as time off.

5.7  The estimated excess hours are to be expressed as a range rather than a specific number, with the upper amount not exceeding the lower amount by more than 20%.

5.8  In determining the range of excess hours, the Authorised Officer must take into consideration factors including, but not limited to, prior experience, statutory or agreed timeframes, travel time and employee’s fulltime equivalence. For example, employees whose audits require higher levels of travel time may have higher excess hours agreed.

5.9  Should the estimated upper amount be less than 75 hours then the Authorised Officer can approve the leave management plan. However if the upper amount hours are expected to exceed 75 hours then the COO or the business unit head must approve. In providing this approval Work Health and Safety implications must be considered. The amount of hours that can be approved at this stage will be up to 120 hours.

5.10  If, for operational reasons, the leave management plan is to change for employees originally accruing excess hours from less than 75 hours to exceeding 75 hours then the plan will need to be revised, in conjunction with the employee and the Authorised Officer and will be required to be approved by the COO or the relevant head of business unit. Again in providing this approval Work Health and Safety implications must be considered. The amount of hours that can be approved at this stage will be up to 120 hours.

5.11  In cases where the threshold of 120 hours is to be exceeded, prior written approval will be required from at least two members of the SEMG. A new leave management plan will need to be prepared.

5.12  The excess hours worked accrued according to the Agreement are to be taken according to the leave management plan detailed in 5.6 and 5.10. This plan is to provide for the time or times the excess hours may be taken by mutual agreement between the Authorised Officer and the employee.

5.13  Whereby the excess hours worked balance for employees has not been taken, then at 30 April of each proceeding year, the balance will be reduced to nil unless prior written approval has been obtained from the COO to carry-over those hours. Approvals will only be considered in cases related to unavoidable operational circumstances or reasonable personal requirements. This approval is not automatic.

5.14  The Tasmanian Audit Office’s time recording system is to be used to record the accumulation and management of excess hours worked by employees. All leave management plans must be in writing and kept in TRIM.

5.15  Each employee has a duty and responsibility to ensure that their recording of hours worked is accurate and true.

5.16  An Authorised Officer may delegate some responsibilities under this policy to other appropriate employees within their business unit.

5.17  Approvals specified in this policy will be assessed on a case-by-case-basis.

5.18  In all cases Authorised Officers must ensure that employees do not work on public holidays, Saturday or Sunday. If due to business priorities employees are required to work these days then advance approval must be obtained, from either the COO or the relevant head of business unit.

5.19  Employees and Authorised Officers will use their best endeavours to meet the requirements of the written leave management plans that have been developed in good faith by all parties.

5.20  The provisions of this procedure assume that all hours noted will be on a pro-rata basis.

6  Supporting/Related Documents

State Service Act 2000

Tasmanian State Service Award

Tasmanian Audit Office and CPSU Hours of Work Agreement 2016

7  Key Words

·  Excess Hours

·  In Lieu of Overtime (ILOT)

8  Supporting Procedures/Guidelines

Nil

RESPONSIBILITIES

Implementation / Corporate Support Services
Compliance / Business Unit Heads
Monitoring and Evaluation / Corporate Support Services
Development and/or Review / Corporate Support Services
Interpretation and Advice / Corporate Support Services

WHO NEEDS TO KNOW THIS PROCEDURE

·  All TAO staff

·  Department of Justice Human Resources staff

EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS PROCEDURE

Minimal complaints from staff in relation management of excess hours.

PROCEDURE HISTORY

Procedure No. / SOP 4.0 - T
Approved / Rescinded / Approved
Date / 25/05/2016
Chief Operating Officer / Ric De Santi
Signature /
Date of Review / 30/06/2019
Amendment Required / Yes/No
Name of Policy Maker
Title
Signature

Attachment 1: Employee Excess Hours Management Plan

EMPLOYEE EXCESS HOURS MANAGEMENT PLAN (REVISED IF APPLICABLE)
Employee Details
Name
Position Title
Employment Status / Full time Part time ………… .hrs p/f
Business Unit/Group
Agreed Excess Hours Range (Hours)
Excess Hours Range / Lower amount ……………….. Upper amount ………………..
Current Balance (Hours)
Excess Hours / ……………….. as at ………………..
Plan (Authorised Officer to complete)
Type (Leave or Payment) / Number of Hours / When (for leave only)
From: To:
From: To:
Approvals (Original Plan)
Comments: / Comments:
Employee: Name, Signature and Date / Authorised Officer: Name, Signature and Date
Additional approval if greater than 75 hours - Comments:
Approved: Chief Operating Officer/Head of Business Unit if > 75 hours: Name, Signature and Date
Approvals (Revised Plan)
Changes and Comments: / Changes and Comments:
Employee: Name, Signature and Date / Authorised Officer: Name, Signature and Date or
Chief Operating Officer/General Manager if > 75 hours

For revised Excess Hours Management Plan, please provide the following information:

Number of access hours (range) previously agreed:

Revised number of access hours (range):

Outline reasons for the revision of excess hours:

Outline alternative options considered and the reasons why those options were not executed:

Did you give due consideration to the Workload Management and Work-Life Balance as part of the revision of excess hours? (Whereby Authorised Officers deny an employee’s request to work additional hours due to these reasons, these must be documented and held on the Office’s electronic record keeping system, TRIM).

Documentation supplied:

Outline implications of the revised excess hours, including:

·  Budget implications on audits impacted by the change (if any):

·  Recoverability of additional cost as a result of the change (if any):

·  Impact on staff resourcing as a result of the change (if any):