Fair Work Centre — For Employers
Multiple awards, sensitive performance issues and complex rostering make healthcare one of the most compliance-heavy sectors to employ in. Get advice built for your practice.
The Problem
Medical and allied health staff are typically covered by the Health Professionals and Support Services Award, and rostering must also account for entitlements under the National Employment Standards — getting either wrong creates underpayment risk that compounds quickly across a roster.
Nurses, reception staff and allied health professionals can sit under different awards or be award-free — misclassifying even one role creates underpayment exposure across your whole team.
Performance or conduct issues involving patient safety need a careful, documented process — skipping steps here is a common reason these dismissals are successfully challenged.
Practices open evenings and weekends must correctly apply penalty rates and minimum engagement periods, which vary by award and role.
Treating a genuine employee as a locum contractor to simplify payroll exposes the practice to back-pay and superannuation claims.
How We Help
Fair Work Centre helps medical and healthcare practices manage award classification, rostering compliance and safe, defensible performance processes.
We also advise on managing disciplinary matters that intersect with Fair Work Commission unfair dismissal risk, so patient safety concerns are handled without exposing the practice.
How It Works
Call 1300 161 828 or book a free initial advice call about your business.
We review your specific classification, contracts and compliance risk.
Get a clear compliance plan built for your business and workforce.
A short advice call now can prevent significant back-pay exposure across your roster later.
Membership
Common Questions
It depends on the role — nurses, reception and administration staff, and allied health professionals can sit under different awards, or in some cases be award-free. We review each role individually rather than applying a single award across the whole practice.
It depends on the substance of the arrangement, not the label used. Genuine locums who control their own hours and carry their own risk are more likely to be contractors, but practices that direct and control a ‘locum’s’ work closely risk sham contracting exposure.
Serious safety breaches can justify a faster process, but the bar is high. In most cases the practitioner should still be given a chance to respond before any final decision is made.
Many allied health roles covered by an award are entitled to weekend and evening penalty rates — this depends on the specific award and classification, which is worth confirming before rostering extended hours.
Employees returning from parental leave are entitled to return to their pre-leave role, or a comparable role if that position no longer exists, under the National Employment Standards.
Start by confirming the award and classification for each role, then apply the correct minimum engagement periods and penalty rates for evening, weekend and public holiday shifts.
No. Fair Work Centre is an independent private advisory service for employers. We are not associated with or authorised by the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Fair Work Commission, or any government authority.
Fair Work Centre is an independent private organisation providing advisory services to employers only. It is not associated with or authorised by the Fair Work Ombudsman, the Fair Work Commission, or any government authority.
Speak to an Employment Lawyer at Fair Work Centre
To change or request cancellation of your Client Membership, please email us with your request at: info@fairworkcentre.com.au.
Refer to our Terms of Service for changes or cancellation requests.
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