by Nick Wailes & Russell D. Lansbury

I. The types of flexibility introduced
. . D. Working time

1. Has there been a trend towards the calculation of working hours in reference to a longer period (e.g. a month or a year)?

Associated with broader changes in the organization of working time, through enterprise bargaining, there has been a growth in provisions for the calculation of working hours in reference to a longer period. Awards in Australia have typically calculated working hours over the period of a week. Of the enterprise agreements included in the ADAM database, 16 per cent of those registered in 1993-1994 and 21 per cent of those registered in the 1995-1996 period included provisions for the averaging of hours of work over periods of between four and 52 weeks (ACIRRT, 1996, No. 10: 13). These trends reflect the growing trend towards calculation of working hours in reference to a longer period in the process of decentralization of bargaining in Australia.

The following are two examples of provisions for the averaging of hours over a 52 week period. The first is taken from an agreement in the real estate industry and the second comes from a manufacturing enterprise:

"... ordinary hours of employment under this agreement shall be a maximum of 40 hours a week, averaged over a 52 week period. Hours worked outside this average must be voluntary and authorized by the employer in writing and any hours so authorized will be paid for at the ordinary hourly rate (ACIRRT, 1996, No. 8: 16).

... the ordinary span of hours of employment for all employees exclusive of meal breaks shall be worked Monday to Saturday inclusive as determined by the employer and shall not exceed 38 hours per week (which may be averaged over a 52 week period as permitted by s122 of the Act) subject to maximum of 12 ordinary hours on any one day and 50 hours in any one week (ACIRRT, 1996, No. 8: 17)."