QNU sought QIRC assistance to pin down Queensland Health assurances on pay and secure more facility-based payroll support
Published: 27 May 2010
Summary of today’s QIRC hearing decisions
Today’s Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) conference, dealing with Queensland Health payroll issues, broke up earlier this evening and a summary of Commissioner John Thompson’s directions and requests is as follows:
1. Meaning of the term “financial disadvantage”
Queensland Health was directed to outline, to union representatives by 4.00pm tomorrow 28 May, what it means when it says no employee will be financially disadvantaged by the payroll bungle. Union representatives then have until 4.00pm next Tuesday, 1 June, to provide Queensland Health with their response. Queensland Health and the union representatives are to then meet on Wednesday, 2 June, to try and reach agreement. There will then be a report back hearing in the QIRC, before Commissioner Thompson, next Thursday, 3 June.
2. Just what have Queensland Health employees been paid
Queensland Health was directed to produce, for Wednesday 2 June’s meeting with union representatives, a list of all payments made to each employee since 8 March, when the new payroll system started. If Queensland Health fails to do that then it needs to have the appropriate officers present at the QIRC report back hearing, on Thursday 3 June, to explain why.
3. Relieving workload pressures at the facility level
Queensland Health was directed to provide, at the 2 June meeting with union representatives, a detailed outline of all on-site payroll support for Nurse Unit Managers/Line Managers and other affected employees.
4. Unauthorised deductions from employees’ pay
Queensland Health was directed to cease making unauthorised deductions from employees’ pay. There is a major problem with the new payroll system automatically deducting what it thinks are ‘overpayments’. Queensland Health says it cannot turn that feature of the new system off.
The said feature of the new system is actually in breach of the Queensland Industrial Relations Act 1999, which requires such repayments be negotiated with the employee involved.
The problem is compounded by the current difficulties because the system is reading ad hoc payments, made to correct underpayments, as extra payments and it is making deductions in subsequent pays. Someone from CorpTech is to be available at the 2 June meeting with union representatives to explain how this problem can be fixed.
(CorpTech is responsible for the design, build, implementation and support of whole-of-Government information systems that are used by State Government agencies and shared service providers to administer the State’s finances and workforce.)
5. Taxation issues and group certificates
Commissioner Thompson requested that Queensland Health provide union representatives, at the 2 June meeting, with a report on discussions between the Queensland Health director-general and Australian Taxation Office officials about making sure 2009-10 employee group certificates accurately reflect each Queensland Health employee’s true earnings. He said the QIRC viewed this as a critical issue.
Today’s compulsory conference was held to address concerns raised by the Queensland Nurses Union (QNU) about Queensland Health’s transition to a new payroll system.
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