For Official Use Only Rosters...For Official Use Only For Official Use Only Rosters Page 2 of 15 Table of Contents 1. Purpose 3 2. Scope 3 3. Definitions 3 4. Procedural Instruction

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Rosters

Procedural Instruction

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Page 2 of 15 Rosters

Table of Contents

1. Purpose 3

2. Scope 3

3. Definitions 3

4. Procedural Instruction 5

4.1. Developing and managing rosters 5

4.2. Roster development process 5

4.3. Developing rosters 6

4.4. Roster design rules 6

4.5. Roster design guidelines 8

4.6. Roster design best practice principles 9

4.7. Roster creation 10

4.8. Roster management 10

4.9. Roster reviews 11

5. Consultation 12

5.1 Internal Consultation 12

5.2 External Consultation 12

6 Accountability and Responsibility 13

7 Version Control 14

Attachment A – Assurance and Control Matrix 14

1.1. Powers and Obligations 14

1.2. Controls and Assurance 14




1. Purpose

1.1.1. This Procedural Instruction (PI) outlines the Department’s requirements in developing and

managing shift work rosters and supports the shift work arrangements provided by the

Department of Home Affairs Workplace Determination 2019 (WD).

2. Scope

2.1.1. This PI applies to all Department of Home Affairs employees who are responsible for the

development and management of shift work rosters to support operational activity.

2.1.2. This PI does not cover:

the conditions associated with performing shift work - refer to the Shift Work Procedural

Instruction

overs and unders management - refer to the Overs and Unders Procedural Instruction, or

consultation requirements for roster changes - refer to the Shift Work Procedural Instruction.

3. Definitions

Term Acronym

(if applicable) Definition

Australian Border Force ABF As defined in section 4 of the Australian Border Force Act

2015, the Australian Border Force means that part of the

Department known as the Australian Border Force.

The Australian Border Force, an operationally independent

body within the Department of Home Affairs, is Australia's

frontline border law enforcement agency and Australia's

customs service. The Australian Border Force delivers critical

border protection and national security outcomes while

facilitating the movement of people and goods across the

border.

Delegate The relevant person or position that the Secretary has delegated power to make decisions in line with the HR delegations.

Refer to HR Delegations on Bordernet.

Department of Home

Affairs

The

Department

The Department of Home Affairs, including the ABF.

Department of Home

Affairs Workplace

Determination 2019

WD The Workplace Determination sets out the terms and

conditions of employment for employees (excluding Senior

Executive Service) in the Department. The terms and

conditions have been determined by the Fair Work

Commission through an arbitration process.

Full-time employee An employee who works 37.5 hours per week or 75 hours per

fortnight.

https://bordernet.immi.local/human-resources/enterprise-agreement/Documents/workplace-determination.pdf

https://bordernet.immi.local/myhr/Pages/hr-delegations.aspx







Term Acronym


Manager Means a supervisor, section head or team leader of an

employee.

Overtime Overtime for shift workers is work approved by the delegate

that is performed:

a) on any day outside the normal rostered ordinary

hours of duty on that day, or

b) any duty in excess of the weekly hours of ordinary

duty, or an average of the standard weekly hours of

duty over a cycle of shifts.

Overs Overs occur at the time of an ‘event’ when the employee has

actually worked more hours at that point in their roster than

salary has been paid. Time is owed to the employee.

Part-time employee Part-time Means an employee who works less than a standard working

week of 37 hours 30 minutes (or 75 hours per fortnight), or

average thereof.

Roster A recurring pattern of attendance. Included in a roster are

“shifts”, detailing the hours of attendance for each day or

period of attendance over the roster cycle. Also known as a

work schedule.

Roster cycle Is the number of weeks that make up the entire roster/work

schedule. Over the number of weeks in the roster cycle, the

average hours worked will be 37.5 hours.

Rostered Day Off RDO Day in a roster period where the employee is not required to

work.

Secretary The appointed agency head of the Department or the person

authorised by the Secretary as their delegate.

Shift The scheduled hours of duty for a day or period of attendance

within a roster (including scheduled unpaid meal breaks).

Shift Employee An employee whose ordinary hours of work rostered for duty

within a roster or cycle of shifts that do not exceed an

average of the ordinary weekly hours applicable to employees

working that roster.

This does not include employees who are eligible to access

flex time arrangements in accordance with Clause 3.18 of the

WD or employees on standard hours of duty.

Unders Unders occur at the time of an ‘event’ when the employee has

actually worked fewer hours than the amount of salary that

has been paid at that point in their roster. The employee owes

time.

Variable Work Hours

Arrangement

VWH An arrangement between an employee and their manager to:




Term Acronym


vary the ordinary working hours or standard working

day for a full-time employee on a regular basis, or

support an employee to work less than a standard working

week of 37 hours 30 minutes (or 75 hours per fortnight), or

average thereof.

4. Procedural Instruction

4.1. Developing and managing rosters

4.1.1. The primary purpose of a roster is to ensure that the attendance patterns of employees

efficiently and effectively meet workload demands and operational requirements.

4.1.2. In developing rosters, the Department will take into consideration:

Work Health and Safety (WHS) legislation

efficient and effective alignment of resources to meet workload demands

maintenance of a healthy and productive working environment

Employee amenity and lifestyle considerations

relevant sections of the WD.

4.2. Roster development process

4.2.1. The below provides an overview of the roster development process:

Step What Details

1 Work area assessment of

operational requirements

Work areas should assess their operational requirements

taking into account the following (but not limited to):

identified peak workload times

daily coverage required

appropriate handover times

staffing requirements to manage the workload against

existing full time employee (FTE) and budget allowance.

2 Determination of appropriate

consultative forum

As per the WD, employees must be notified of proposed

changes to a roster or changes to regular hours of duty.

Consultation must take place in accordance with the Shift

Work Procedural Instruction and the consultation provisions in

Part 7 of the WD.

3 Development of the roster Work area management and/or nominated employee/s (and

their representatives if desired) are responsible for developing

the roster to comply with the roster design rules and taking




Step What Details

into account the roster design guidelines and roster design

best practice principles.

4 Delegate approval

Once the final roster has been developed and all consultation

requirements have been met, the roster must be approved by

the relevant delegate (SES Band 1 or above).

5 Agreement and easySAP

creation

After approval, the work area must complete a roster creation

template (available from Support Connect) and send through

to the Support Connect Portal. The roster will be loaded in

easySAP and a work schedule created.

Any rosters which do not meet the roster design rules and/or

roster design guidelines will be returned to the work area for

further consideration.

Approval by Director, Employee Conditions and Relocations

may be required where the roster design guidelines are not

met.

Once the roster has been entered into easySAP, payroll will

allocate the position numbers for the roster.

6 Notification to staff

In line with the consultation provisions in the WD, employees

must be provided with at least seven days’ notice prior to the

commencement of the new roster.

7 Review Rosters should be reviewed annually to confirm the

appropriateness of the work pattern for the work area.

4.3. Developing rosters

4.3.1. Roster design needs to:

comply with the Roster design rules;

take into account the Roster design guidelines and

consider Roster design best practice principles.

4.3.2. These design provisions have been developed to ensure that rosters meet the operational

needs of individual work areas, whilst taking into consideration other factors such as:

requirements under Part 3 of the WD, and

ensuring that potential WHS concerns are addressed and managed

4.4. Roster design rules

4.4.1. Roster design rules are mandatory.

4.4.2. Rosters will not be approved where these rules are not met.

Rule Details

Average work hours per

fortnight

Full time employees (including employees on variable working hours

arrangements)






Rule Details

The average hours per fortnight of a full time employee over the whole

roster must be 75 hours (i.e. 37.5 hours per week)

Part-time employees

The average hours per fortnight of a part-time employee over the whole

roster should equal the hours specified in their part-time agreement.

Part-time employees may be rostered to follow the same pattern of

attendance as their full time team members. Alternatively, they may be

rostered to a pattern of attendance that varies in accordance with

workload demands. Operational considerations will determine which

method is used to manage the rostering of part-time employees within

individual work areas.

Other e.g. medically determined rosters

In circumstances where employees with medical conditions require

reasonable adjustments, normal roster design rules will apply. The

individual employee’s medical condition as well as operational needs must

also be considered when determining hours of work and attendance

patterns. Rosters developed to meet individual needs in these

circumstances must be regularly reviewed in line with medical advice.

Length of shifts Minimum must be three (3) hours or more

Maximum must not exceed 12 hours including 2 x 30 minutes

unpaid meal breaks (i.e. maximum 11 hours duty)

The rostering of shifts longer than 10 hours duty time (excluding unpaid

meal breaks) is not recommended. Shifts over 10 hours are generally

regarded as too long. Wherever possible, work areas should endeavour

to limit shift lengths to a maximum of 10 hours of actual attendance.

Implementation of rosters involving shifts of 12 hours in length will be

subject to the agreement of the majority of affected employees, and where

they choose, their representative(s).

Approval for these shifts must be obtained from Director, Employee

Conditions and Relocations, People and Culture Division.

Unless otherwise agreed, a trial period of not less than six months will

apply. Where 12 hour shifts are implemented no overtime should be

worked in addition to the roster.

Rest periods between shifts

Shift employees will be provided with a minimum of at least eight

consecutive hours off duty (plus reasonable travel time), between two

periods of ordinary duty.

As a general rule, a maximum of one hour each way would be considered

a reasonable amount of travel time in determining rest periods when

creating rosters.

Meal breaks Clause 3.13 of the WD states that employees will not be required to work

more than five consecutive hours without an unpaid meal break of at least

30 minutes unless in exceptional circumstances.

An employee working a shift greater than 10.5 hours in length must be

provided with two unpaid meal breaks over the course of the shift. Both

meal breaks will be unpaid, and of at least 30 minutes in duration.




Rule Details

Meal breaks should be taken evenly across the length of the shift.

Length of shift (exclusive of

meal break) Meal breaks

≤ 5 hours Not mandatory

> 5 hours <10.5 hours 1 x 30 minutes

≥ 10.5 hours 2 x 30 minutes

Rosters will not be approved without the required meal breaks.

24 hour limit

Except at the regular change-over of shifts, an employee should not be

required to work more than one shift in each 24 hour period. That is, an

employee should not be rostered to start and finish two full shifts within a

24 hour time span.

Daily hours The daily hours of each shift must be divisible by three to ensure that the

roster can be processed in easySAP.

4.5. Roster design guidelines

4.5.1. Compliance with roster design guidelines is not mandatory, however, every effort must be made

to design rosters that comply with the guidelines. Any roster that does not meet the roster

design guidelines will be referred back to the work area for further consideration.

4.5.2. Rosters not meeting roster design guidelines will only be approved by Director Employee

Conditions and Relocations where:

there is a demonstrable operational and business need for the roster

any identified risks can be mitigated e.g. if WHS risks are identified due to the numbers of

hours in a seven day period, a WHS risk assessment should be completed and employee

wellbeing continually monitored, and

any employee feedback and/or concerns are considered and addressed.

4.5.3. These rosters should be reviewed half yearly to ascertain whether there has been a change in

circumstances that would affect compliance with the guidelines.

Roster Design Guideline Details

Payment of shift penalties Where possible, staff should be rostered to perform duty during

normal working hours or between 06:30 hrs and 18:00 hrs.

Shift penalties are payable to employees who are rostered to perform

ordinary hours of duty outside the period 06:30 hrs to 18:00 hrs

Monday to Friday, and/or on Saturdays, Sundays, or Public Holidays

for an ongoing or fixed period.

Rosters outside normal working hours must be carefully considered

and confirmation provided by the work area that the starting times

have been determined as a direct requirement of meeting operational

requirements. This is particularly important for proposed rosters with

shift starting times between 06:00hrs and 06:30hrs.




Rosters which include shift start or finish times within 30 minutes of

the penalty payment period may be referred back to the work area for

further review. Additionally, supporting evidence of operational

periods/workload may be requested to validate the requirement for

shift penalty payments.

Length of roster cycle Rosters cycles should be kept as short as practicable to enable

efficient administration and variations to the roster.

The maximum length of a roster cycle is 26 weeks.

Rostered hours in a seven day

period

Rosters should not contain more than 60 working hours within a

seven (7) day period and/or more than one seven day period of over

50 working hours

In order for work areas to gain approval for rosters with these hours,

the work area EL2 (or above) must prepare a business case to:

demonstrate that no other viable option exists;

advise what consideration has been given to particular

circumstances; and

record the range of matters considered.

Work area EL2s can submit business cases to the Director,

Employee Conditions and Relocations, People and Culture Division.

Work Sequences Compressed working periods of eight (8) or more consecutive

working days should be avoided.

Rostered weekends off Wherever possible, a shift worker should be rostered off duty for at

least one full weekend (Saturday and Sunday) every 4 weeks over

the whole roster cycle. Ideally, these should be spread evenly over

the roster cycle.

Minimise sequence of nights A night shift is defined as any shift that commences at or after

18:00hrs, spans midnight and finishes at or before 08:00 hrs.

Wherever possible, successive night shifts should not exceed five (5)

consecutive shifts, and should be followed by an appropriate number

of rostered days off. A minimum period of 72 hours before the start of

the next shift would be considered appropriate.

4.6. Roster design best practice principles

4.6.1. Roster design best practice principles serve as reference information for developing rosters

taking WHS considerations, operational requirements and employee amenity and preference

into account.

4.6.2. Proposed rosters that do not meet these best practice principles may require additional

supporting documentation such as a complete WHS risk assessment when submitted for

approval.

Best practice principle Details

Rotating Shifts During a three shift system, forward rotating rosters (morning-afternoon-

night) are preferred over backward rotating rosters (night-afternoon-

morning) as forward rotating rosters generally suit employees better and




Best practice principle Details

are less disruptive to the body’s ability to adapt to changing times of

sleep.

Wherever possible, shift rotation should be forward rotating, and as

regular as possible.

Permanent (non-rotating)

shifts

Permanent shift rosters are generally acceptable during daytime hours.

However, permanent night rosters should be avoided unless there is a

strong operational requirement for such a roster. In considering

justification for such a roster, regard must be had to the additional penalty

cost associated with permanent night rosters, known effects on sleep debt

and fatigue, work-life balance of employees, and potential administrative

difficulties.

Duration of shift The duration of shifts should be appropriate for the workload and the type

of work involved (i.e. screen-based, manual labour).

Wherever possible, night shifts should be shorter in duration than shifts

that are worked in the morning or during the day.

Double shifts and split shifts must not be rostered shifts.

4.7. Roster creation

4.7.1. Once a new roster has been approved by the work area SES Band 1 or above after the

appropriate consultation, the roster must be created in easySAP by Payroll Services.

Roster clerks require both Roster Clerk Shift Maintenance (B3HR-

ROSTER_CLERK) and Load Work Schedules (B3HR-ROSTER MANAGER)

access through easySAP via Employees > System Access > Create Access

Request > Add Role

Work areas without roster clerks will need to have the roster created by the

relevant team in Payroll Services. The required forms can be requested by

emailing Support Connect through the Support Connect Portal.

4.7.2. Once the required forms have been completed and approved, they must be lodged via Support

Connect through the Portal.

4.7.3. Once position numbers have been confirmed, these are to be added to the roster by Payroll

Services.

4.7.4. Work areas should allow at least three (3) months for the completed creation of a roster in

easySAP.

4.8. Roster management

4.8.1. Work areas are responsible for day to day management of their rosters.

4.8.2. Regular and ongoing management of employee attendance against the work area roster is

required to ensure:

that employees are rostered correctly

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that changes to shifts such as shift swaps, Days in Lieu (DILs) and Make Up Days (MUDs)

are properly entered into easySAP

staff moves take into account the requirement to reconcile overs and unders balances

that the requirement for overtime in addition to the roster is minimised so as not to

compromise the ongoing health and safety of employees, and

that shift start and finish times, and the number of employees rostered to these shifts, are

optimally aligned against workload demands.

4.8.3. It is recommended that work areas have dedicated roster clerks who are responsible for the day

to day management of their roster arrangements.

4.9. Roster reviews

4.9.1. Rosters should be reviewed based on the following:

Roster Review requirements

All rosters All shift rosters should be reviewed annually to confirm the

appropriateness of the work pattern for the work area to meet

operational requirements without compromising the health and safety

of the shift workers.

However, work areas should also maintain a program of continuous

review to ensure efficiency of the roster and its impact on employees.

New rosters A more formal and comprehensive post implementation roster

evaluation should be undertaken by work areas approximately three

(3) to six (6) months after implementation to assess the effectiveness

of the roster. After the completion of the initial review, annual

reviews would be appropriate.

Reviews of new rosters should be undertaken in consultation with

affected employees and nominated representative(s).

Rosters with 12 hour shifts After the initial trial period of six months, the roster must be reviewed

taking into consideration the issues outlined at 4.9.2.

Roster not meeting design

guidelines

Where the roster did not meet the roster design guidelines but was

approved by Director Employee Conditions and Relocations due to a

demonstrable operational and business need, the initial review

should also include assessment of the impact on employees and

address any identified concerns or issues.

4.9.2. Issues to consider as part of all reviews of shift rosters including (but are not limited to):

Issues Considerations

Operational Requirements Does the roster ensure appropriate coverage and align with

workload/peak times consistent with the available resources?

Has the roster mitigated the requirement for high overtime

levels? If not, why not?




Issues Considerations

WHS and wellbeing

What is the current unscheduled absence rate? Is the roster

contributing to improvement or has the rate increased since the

roster commenced?

WHS incidents/near misses? Has this increased/decreased?

Are there any patterns associated with attendance/shift times?

Has the roster positively impacted on the working environment

such as employee work life balance? If not, why not?

What is feedback from staff on the roster?

Policy and Procedural

Instructions

Has the policy or procedural instruction changed? If so, does the

roster continue to meet the updated guidelines?

4.9.3. Work areas should retain appropriate records of all reviews undertaken in relation to their shift

rosters in accordance with the Department’s record keeping policy.

5. Consultation

5.1 Internal Consultation

5.1.1 The following internal stakeholders were consulted in the development of this PI:

People Strategy and Culture Branch, People and Culture Division

People Services Branch, People and Culture Division

Civil, Commercial and Employment Law, Branch, Legal Division

Records Management

All Department of Home Affairs employees including the Australian Border Force

5.2 External Consultation

5.2.1 The following external stakeholders were consulted in the Development of this PI:

Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU)

Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE)




6 Accountability and Responsibility

Role Description

Employees Employees are responsible for:

Active participation in roster development including providing

feedback during the consultation process.

Managers Managers are responsible for:

Consulting on required changes to shift and associated roster

development in line with the consultation provisions at Part 7 of the

WD.

Developing and approving rosters to meet operational requirements

and which minimise the requirement for scheduled overtime.

Ensuring shift rosters including accurate employee attendance is

managed on a day to day basis.

Reviewing rosters to ensure alignment with resources, health and

wellbeing and operational requirements.

Employee Conditions and

Relocations, People Services

Employee Conditions and Relocations is responsible for:

Providing advice on roster development and creation to work areas.

Assessing rosters and providing endorsement for rosters as

required.

Workforce Management and

Conditions, Workplace

Relations & WHS Assurance

Workforce Management and Conditions is responsible for:

providing complex policy advice and guidance in relation to shift work

arrangements and associated provisions.

policy development and updates in relation to this PI to ensure

currency and relevance.

Payroll Services, People and

Culture Division

Payroll Services is responsible for:

entering approved rosters in easySAP as required.




7 Version Control

Version

number Date of issue Author(s) Brief description of change

0.1 May 2019 Workforce Management and

Conditions, Workplace Relations

& WHS Assurance

Initial draft for consultation

0.2 November

2019

Workforce Management and

Conditions, Workplace Relations

& WHS Assurance

Updated draft for staff consultation

Attachment A – Assurance and Control Matrix

1.1. Powers and Obligations

Legislative Provision

Is this a delegable

power?

If delegable, list the relevant

instruments of delegation Legislation

Reference

(e.g.

section) Provision

Department of Home

Affairs Workplace

Determination 2019

Various Various Y

All HR delegations are available at:

https://bordernet.immi.local/hr/ma

nage-team/organisational-and-

position-management/hr-

delegation

1.2. Controls and Assurance

Related Policy HR-2191 - Working Hours Policy Statement

Procedures / Supporting

Materials

HR-XXXX - Shift Work Procedural Instruction

HR-2157 - Overs and Unders Procedural Instruction

HR-4714 - Preventing and Managing Work Health and Safety Fatigue Risk

Training/Certification or

Accreditation Nil

Other required job role

requirements Nil

Other support mechanisms

(eg who can provide further

assistance in relation to any

aspects of this instruction)

MyHR

Support Connect Portal

Escalation arrangements Queries which require escalation will be forwarded through the Support

Connect Portal to the relevant People and Culture Division work area








Recordkeeping (eg system

based facilities to record

decisions)

TRIM

easySAP

Control Frameworks (please

refer to a specific document

outlining QA or QC

arrangements)

easySAP - workflow delegations are inbuilt in easySAP to ensure that only delegated managers can create rosters

For requests requiring, People and Culture Division approval, delegations

have been provided to appropriate persons and positions in line with the HR

Delegations framework

Job Vocational Framework

Role This PI applies to all job roles in the Department including ABF.