An overview of the Legal Services Award
The Legal Services Award 2020 plays an essential role in setting the standards for employment conditions within the legal services industry. It ensures that employees engaged in the business of providing legal and legal support services receive fair wages and benefit from equitable working conditions.
In this article, you'll find a summarised overview of the key elements of the Legal Services Award, covering areas such as award coverage, types of employment, guidelines for rostering, pay rates, allowances, superannuation, and leave entitlements. Gaining a solid understanding of these aspects is key to ensuring compliance with legal requirements and promoting fair employment practices within your legal practice.
For more comprehensive details, this article includes links to in-depth discussions on each of these topics.
Note: The information provided in this article is accurate as of 30/08/2024. As award conditions and rates are subject to change, please refer to the latest version of the Legal Services Award 2020 for the most current information.
Legal Services Award coverage
The Legal Award covers employers and employees within the legal services industry. You can explore the basics of its coverage below:
Who’s covered
- Legal service employees: Includes legal secretaries, paralegals, law clerks, and some solicitors and barristers, depending on their employment status and tasks.
- On-hire employees: Temporary staff, such as contract paralegals and legal secretaries provided by staffing agencies.
- Trainees: Legal administrative trainees and law graduate trainees gaining practical experience while completing formal training.
Who isn’t covered
- Employees of community legal centres and Aboriginal legal services: Excluded because of the unique funding and operational models of these organisations.
- Non-legal sector employees: Individuals working in legal roles within companies that don't primarily offer legal services, such as LegalTech firms.
- Senior management and high-level professionals: Partners in law firms and senior solicitors with distinct responsibilities.
- Employees under other agreements: Those covered by specific enterprise agreements or public sector awards, and those overlapping with other industry awards.
Practical example: Sarah, a paralegal at a mid-sized private law firm, spends 70% of her time on legal research and document preparation for cases, 20% on client correspondence, and 10% on administrative tasks. Since her role primarily involves providing legal support and performing tasks directly related to legal services, the Legal Service Award covers her.
Employment types under the Legal Services Award
The Legal Award categorises employees based on their contract types and work hours, providing clear guidelines for various employment scenarios:
- Full-time: Employees on ongoing contracts who typically work a consistent number of hours each week, benefitting from job stability and a regular schedule.
- Part-time: Employees who work fewer hours than full-time staff, with specific hours outlined in their contracts. They maintain ongoing employment and receive benefits proportional to their work hours.
- Casual: Employees hired on an as-needed basis without guaranteed hours. They receive a higher hourly rate to compensate for the lack of regular hours and employment security.
Legal Services Award ordinary hours
The Legal Award outlines clear guidelines for managing ordinary hours of work for different employment types, ensuring fairness across roles in the legal sector.
- Full-time employees: Work 38 hours per week, with the option to average these hours over a 28-day period, totaling no more than 152 hours.
- Part-time employees: Work fewer than 38 hours per week, with a minimum of three hours per shift.
- Casual employees: May work up to 38 hours per week, with a minimum engagement of four hours per shift.
- On-hire workers: Follow work hours specified in their contract with the hiring agency, which should reflect the conditions of directly employed staff in similar roles.
- Apprentices/trainees: Usually follow full-time or part-time hours, based on their training requirements and the terms set with their employer.
Ordinary hours are typically between 7:00 AM and 6:30 PM, Monday to Friday, with flexibility to adjust the start and end times by up to one hour if mutually agreed upon. Any work performed before the official start of the day, such as preparing the workplace for others, is included in the standard 38-hour workweek.
Rostering and breaks under the Legal Services Award
The Legal Service Award provides clear rules for employee rostering and breaks to ensure fairness and compliance:
Rostering
- Regular and predictable hours: Full-time and part-time employees should have consistent and predictable work hours agreed upon in writing before starting. Employers typically set rosters for each fortnightly period.
- Notice periods: Employers must give employees 14 days' notice for each new roster. If operational needs arise, employers can change rosters after consulting with the affected employees and giving as much notice as possible.
- Roster flexibility: The award allows flexibility in rostering. Employers and employees can mutually agree to vary specific work hour terms to meet operational and individual needs.
- Flexible working requests: Employees can request flexible working arrangements for reasons like family commitments. Employers must consider these requests according to the National Employment Standards (NES) and can only reject them based on reasonable business grounds.
Breaks
Under the Legal Award, employees have the right to rest and meal breaks to ensure adequate rest. They must take a 30 to 60-minute unpaid meal break no later than five hours after starting work. If an employee works more than five hours without a meal break, the employer must pay them 150% of their minimum hourly rate for that time and ensure the employee takes the meal break without wage deduction as soon as possible.
Employees also have the right to two 10-minute paid rest breaks each day, ideally one before and one after the meal break. Paid rest breaks count as time worked, and employers need to schedule these breaks in such a way that they provide meaningful relief during work hours. Employers can't combine a paid rest break with a meal break.
Learn more about Legal Award employment types, ordinary hours, and rostering
Legal Services Award pay rates
The Legal Award sets minimum wage rates for different employees in the legal services industry, covering adults, juniors, and those performing higher duties. For example, as of July 2024, a Level 2 adult employee earns $26.18 per hour or $995.00 per week. Casual employees receive an additional 25% loading on top of the minimum hourly rate.
Employers must pay wages for all hours worked, typically within a weekly or fortnightly pay period, using cash, cheque, or electronic funds transfer (EFT) into the employees' nominated account. Payslips should clearly itemise any allowances and deductions as required by the Fair Work Act. Upon termination of employment, all outstanding wages, including those for a completed or partially completed pay period, require payment within seven days.
See the full list of Legal Award pay rates
Allowances under the Legal Services Award
The Legal Award includes allowances to compensate employees for additional duties and expenses. For example, employees working overtime receive a meal allowance of $18.23 for the first meal after one hour of overtime, with an extra $14.53 for more than four hours of overtime. A uniform allowance of $3.65 per week applies if special clothing is required unless the employer provides and launders the uniform. Employees using their own vehicle for work can claim $0.95 per kilometre for cars and $0.32 for motorcycles.
Other allowances include transport reimbursement for employees working overtime when no reasonable transport home is available, and a living away from home allowance to cover travel, board, and lodging costs for employees working temporarily away from their usual location, along with payment for travel time.
Legal Services Award superannuation
The Legal Service Award requires employers to make superannuation contributions of 11.5% of an employee’s ordinary time earnings for all employees over 18, as well as those under 18 working more than 30 hours per week. Employees can choose their own superannuation fund; if they don't choose a fund, employers should check with the ATO for a stapled fund or use an approved default fund like LegalSuper or AustralianSuper.
Employees can also opt to make voluntary post-tax superannuation contributions with written authorisation. Employers must pay the authorised additional contributions within 28 days after deducting them. Employees can change these voluntary contributions with three months' notice.
Legal Services Award overtime
Under the Legal Award, an employer must pay a full-time employee and part-time employee overtime for hours exceeding the standard 38-hour week, time worked outside ordinary hours, and work on rostered days off that aren't substituted or banked. Overtime rates are 150% of the regular hourly rate for the first three hours from Monday to Saturday, then increase to 200% for additional hours. Work after 12:00 PM on Saturdays and on Sundays is paid at 200%. A casual employee receives these overtime rates plus a 25% loading.
Employees can opt for time off instead of overtime pay, provided there's a mutual written agreement detailing the terms. They must take this time off within six months of accruing it. Employers must keep records of such agreements. For call-backs after leaving the premises, employees are guaranteed a minimum of four hours' pay at overtime rates. They must also receive a minimum 10-hour rest period between shifts after working overtime, or the employer must compensate them at double time until they can take this rest period.
Learn more about Legal Award overtime
Legal Services Award leave entitlements and public holidays
Under the Legal Award, employees have an entitlement to various types of leave, including four weeks of annual leave for full-time employees, with part-time employees accruing leave on a pro-rata basis. During annual leave, employees receive their regular pay plus a 17.5% annual leave loading. Employers can require employees to take leave during shutdowns with 28 days' notice. Employees may cash out leave, take leave in advance, or be directed to reduce excessive leave accruals (more than eight weeks).
Other leave types include personal/carer's leave, compassionate leave, unpaid parental leave, community service leave, and family and domestic violence leave. Law graduates also have a right to paid study leave of up to 20 days per year.
Public holidays provide employees a paid day off, except for casuals. Employers may request work on public holidays if reasonable, but employees can refuse under certain conditions. Public holidays include New Year’s Day, Australia Day, Good Friday, and more, with states potentially declaring additional holidays. If a holiday falls on a weekend, a substitute holiday (usually the following Monday) is observed. Employers must pay penalty rates for work on public holidays, with a full-time and part-time employee earning 250% of their minimum hourly rate and a casual employee earning 275%.
Shiftwork under the Legal Services Award
Shiftwork involves working outside standard hours, including rotating shifts over a 24-hour period. Shift types include afternoon shifts (ending between 6 PM and midnight), night shifts (ending between midnight and 8 AM), early morning shifts (starting between 5 AM and 6 AM), and permanent night shifts (over four weeks without rotation). Seven-day shiftworkers regularly work on Sundays and public holidays.
Shiftwork penalty rates range from 110% to 155% of the minimum hourly rate, depending on the shift type. Overtime pay applies to shifts exceeding three hours, Saturdays (150%), Sundays (200%), and public holidays (250%). Special conditions apply when shifts span across Sundays or public holidays.
Shiftworkers, like standard employees, earn overtime rates when working on their rostered days off, and those who regularly work Sundays and public holidays receive an extra week of paid leave. They can also agree to take time off instead of receiving overtime pay. Employers must provide a 10-hour rest period between shifts to avoid paying double time.
Shiftwork under the Legal Services Award
Shiftwork involves working outside standard hours, including rotating shifts over a 24-hour period. Shift types include afternoon shifts (ending between 6 PM and midnight), night shifts (ending between midnight and 8 AM), early morning shifts (starting between 5 AM and 6 AM), and permanent night shifts (over four weeks without rotation). Seven-day shiftworkers regularly work on Sundays and public holidays.
Shiftwork penalty rates range from 110% to 155% of the minimum hourly rate, depending on the shift type. Overtime pay applies to shifts exceeding three hours, Saturdays (150%), Sundays (200%), and public holidays (250%). Special conditions apply when shifts span across Sundays or public holidays.
Shiftworkers, like standard employees, earn overtime rates when working on their rostered days off, and those who regularly work Sundays and public holidays receive an extra week of paid leave. They can also agree to take time off instead of receiving overtime pay. Employers must provide a 10-hour rest period between shifts to avoid paying double time.
Learn more about Legal Award shiftwork
Key considerations for the Legal Services Award
The Legal Service Award applies to a broad range of roles within the legal services industry, making it essential for employers to understand and comply with its specific provisions. Here are some key nuances to consider:
- Unusual hours as a common practice: The legal industry often involves working beyond standard hours and engaging in shiftwork, making correct overtime or penalty assumptions and compensation vital.
Why it matters: Poor management of overtime and penalty rates can lead to significant payroll overages, financial instability, and compliance issues. Accurately calculating these rates is essential to avoid overpayments or underpayments, which could result in financial liabilities and employee dissatisfaction. - Specific exclusions: Community legal centres and Aboriginal legal services employers are excluded from this award because of their unique funding models. Additionally, businesses that offer a mix of services, where legal services aren't the primary activity, might also fall outside the award's coverage.
Why it matters: Employers may overlook these exclusions, risking non-compliance. Misclassifying employees or failing to recognise the distinct coverage requirements can result in applying the wrong award, leading to legal repercussions and potential fines. - Broad application across roles: The award covers a variety of roles that support legal operations, such as law firm compliance officers and other legal clerical and administrative employees.
Why it matters: Failing to recognise that these support roles fall under the Legal Service Award can lead to the incorrect application of provisions, which might cause legal and financial issues. Properly identifying and classifying all relevant roles ensures compliance and protects the firm from potential legal challenges.
Simplify Legal Services Award compliance with Rippling
Complying with the Legal Services Award can be challenging due to its nuanced coverage and pay structures. Rippling’s integrated platform simplifies these elements, ensuring your business meets the award’s requirements while fairly compensating employees. Key features include:
Comprehensive coverage and compliance tools
Rippling’s platform offers custom-built alerts to help keep you updated and on top of award compliance. With detailed reporting, audit support, and customisable templates, you can ensure that your business remains compliant with all facets of the Legal Services Award.
Streamlined time, attendance, and leave management
With features like time and attendance tracking and leave management, Rippling ensures that all processes align with the award’s stipulations, reducing manual work and consequent errors, and enhancing operational efficiency.
Simplified payroll, overtime, and superannuation
Rippling simplifies the complexities of payroll, including overtime and superannuation compliance. The platform automatically adjusts pay, overtime, and penalties according to award requirements, and calculates superannuation contributions accurately.
Real-time insights and integration
Rippling’s seamless integration with existing systems ensures accurate financial management, offering peace of mind and operational flow improvements.
Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.
