Each year the Australian Public Service Employee Census gives insights into staff perceptions of working at the Commission. Results from the May 2019 census show that the Fair Work Commission has a staff engagement score three per cent above the APS average, with other measures such as employee wellbeing and innovation reducing slightly from prior year results.

Training and development

The Commission invests in a number of initiatives to give our employees the skills and experience to deliver our services.

Each year, we identify areas for training and development, to continue to meet our legislative requirements and to enhance our ability to deliver services. In 2018–19, mandatory training focused on privacy training, keeping the knowledge and building resilience.

Learning opportunities for staff include e-learning modules, support for formal study, short courses, attendance at conferences, and coaching and mentoring.

In the May 2019 Australian Public Service Employee Census, 80 per cent of respondents felt their workgroup had the appropriate skills, capabilities and knowledge to do their job. This is four per cent above the APS average.

Recruitment and separations

During 2018–19, 81 new employees (ongoing or non-ongoing) commenced employment and 68 employees (ongoing or non-ongoing) departed the Commission.

Conditions of employment

Collective and individual agreements

All employees, except Senior Executive Service (SES) employees, are covered by the Fair Work Commission Enterprise Agreement 2017–2020. The agreement commenced on 4 October 2017 and has a nominal expiry date of 4 October 2020.

At 30 June 2019, 306 employees were covered by the agreement. Three of those employees were also covered by individual flexibility arrangements.

At 30 June 2019, the Commission had three SES Band 1 employees. Employment conditions for SES employees are set out in individual determinations made by the General Manager under s.24(1) of the Public Service Act. The determinations are comprehensive documents covering each SES employee’s terms and conditions, with many conditions aligned with those in the enterprise agreement.

Flexible work

The Commission provides flexible working arrangements to help employees balance work and other responsibilities, including:

• flextime – the majority of employees have access to flextime arrangements allowing them to ‘bank’ time worked in excess of standard full-time, or agreed part-time, hours (banked time can subsequently be taken as leave)
• part-time work – at 30 June 2019, 39 employees worked part time
• home-based work – at 30 June 2019, 10 ongoing employees had a home-based work agreement to combine ongoing work commitments with caring responsibilities and/or personal circumstances
• purchased leave – in 2018–19, 16 employees purchased additional leave
• job sharing – during 2018–19, four employees participated in job sharing arrangements.

In the May 2019 Australian Public Service Employee Census, 78 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the work-life balance of their current job and 65 per cent of staff felt that their supervisor actively supports the use of flexible work arrangements by all staff, regardless of gender.

Non-salary benefits

Non-salary benefits are available to employees through the agreement, individual arrangements and other initiatives. They include:

• time off instead of payment for overtime worked for the majority of employees
• where available through the local metropolitan public transport authority, access to annual train, tram and bus tickets – the Commission pays the up-front cost of a ticket and the employee repays the cost over 12-months
• healthy lifestyle initiatives such as partial reimbursement of the cost of spectacles, subsidised yoga and pilates classes, annual influenza vaccinations and an employee assistance program.

Statistics

At 30 June 2019, the Commission employed 309 staff (238 ongoing and 71 non-ongoing). This does not include Commission Members and is an increase of 12 from the total headcount of ongoing and non-ongoing staff at 30 June 2018. The Commission did not have any casual employees at 30 June 2019. No Commission employees identified as indeterminate sex at 30 June 2019. The Commission does not have staff overseas.

Tables 40 to 53 provide detailed staffing statistics for the past two reporting periods.

Table 40: Details of accountable authority during the reporting period

Table 41: All ongoing employees current reporting period (2018–19)

Table 42: All non-ongoing employees current reporting period (2018–19)

Table 43: All ongoing employees previous reporting period (2017–18)

Table 44: All non-ongoing employees previous reporting period (2017–18)

Table 45: APS ongoing employees current reporting period (2018–19)

Table 46: APS non-ongoing employees current reporting period (2018–19)

Table 47: APS ongoing employees previous reporting period (2017–18)

Table 48: APS non-ongoing employees previous reporting period (2017–18)

Table 49: APS employees by full-time and part-time status current reporting period (2018–19)

Table 50: APS employees by full-time and part-time status previous reporting period (2017–18)

Table 51: APS employment type by location current reporting period (2018–19)

Table 52: APS employment type by location previous reporting period (2017–18)

Table 53: APS Indigenous employment current reporting period (2018–19)

Remuneration

Tables 54 and 55 provide information about remuneration for key management personnel, senior executives and other highly paid staff. The General Manager determines salaries for SES employees and other highly paid staff. Employment conditions for SES employees are set out in individual determinations made under s.24(1) of the Public Service Act.

Other highly paid staff are remunerated under the enterprise agreement with an individual flexibility arrangement, which provides additional remuneration benefits. The General Manager determines the level of additional remuneration based on the quality of professional service provided by the employee and external market conditions.

The Commission did not have any other highly paid staff during the 2018–19 year that were remunerated above the $220,000 disclosure threshold.

SES employees and other highly paid staff do not receive incentive payments or bonuses. Remuneration increases for SES employees is commensurate with increases provided to employees under the enterprise agreement.

The General Manager is an independent statutory office holder whose remuneration arrangements are determined by the Remuneration Tribunal.

Table 56 shows salary ranges for APS employees. Except for SES Band 1 employees, the specified ranges are taken from the enterprise agreement.

Table 54: Information about remuneration for key management personnel

Table 55: Information about remuneration for senior executives

Table 56: APS employment salary ranges by classification level current reporting period (2018–19)

Performance pay

The Commission does not provide performance pay.

Work health and safety

Information about work health and safety at the Commission is provided in Appendix G.