Hours of work in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award
Learn the different ways an employee’s hours can be rostered under the award.
On this page:
- Hours of work
- Broken shifts
- Sleepovers
- Excursions
- 24-hour care
- Client cancellations
- Remote work
- Tools and resources
- Related information
Hours of work
Rules about arranging hours of work and number of shifts per week depend on whether the employee is
Full-time employees
A full-time employee can work their ordinary hours of work in the following ways:
- 38 hours per week over 5 shifts
- 76 hours per fortnight over 10 shifts, or
- 152 hours every 4 weeks over 19 shifts, if practical.
The maximum ordinary hours that a full-time employee can work per shift is:
- 8 hours, or
- 10 hours by agreement.
Part-time and casual employees
Part-time and casual employees are entitled to a minimum payment each time they work. The minimum payment depends on the type of work being performed. These are:
- social and community services employees (except when performing disability services work) - 3 hours
- social and community services employees performing disability services work - 2 hours
- all other employees - 2 hours.
Casual and part-time employees can work for more than one client during their minimum payment period. Different rules may apply to day-workers.
Find out more at Hours of work.
Shiftwork
An employee is a shiftworker if their employer advises them in writing that they are a shiftworker over a specific period.
Shiftworkers don't have a span of ordinary hours if they work afternoon or night shifts.
Shiftworkers are paid a shift allowance depending on the type of shift worked.
| Shift type | Span of hours | Shift allowance |
|---|---|---|
| Afternoon shift | Any shift that finishes after 8pm and 12 midnight Monday to Friday | 12.5% |
| Night shift | Any shift that finishes after 12 midnight or commences before 6am Monday to Friday | 15% |
| Public holiday shift | Any shift worked between 12 midnight on the night prior to the public holiday and 12 midnight of the public holiday | 150% |
Tip: Use our Pay and Conditions Tool or pay guides
Calculate shiftwork entitlements under the SCHADS Award using our free Pay and Conditions Tool.
The tool also lets you calculate pay rates, penalties and allowances.
Prefer a pay guide? We have downloadable pay guides that list all pay rates under the SCHADS award at Pay Guides.
Broken shifts
A broken shift is a shift that is broken into 2 or more periods of paid work. An unpaid meal break doesn’t break a shift.
Broken shifts (sometimes known as split shifts) can only be worked by:
- home care employees
- social and community services employees performing disability services work.
A broken shift can include 3 periods of paid work and 2 unpaid breaks if the employee agrees to it.
The maximum time between the start of the first work period and the end of the last work period is 12 hours. Employees are paid double time for all hours worked beyond 12 hours.
Part-time and casual employees get a minimum payment of 2 hours for each work period.
Example: Minimum payment periods
Jasmine is a part-time social and community services employee who performs disability services work. They are covered by the SCHADS Award. Jasmine is rostered to work a broken shift. It will be worked in 2 parts in the morning and afternoon.
Jasmine works with their first client, Luca, for 90 minutes in the morning. Jasmine must be paid a minimum of 2 hours for this part of the broken shift to satisfy the minimum payment requirement under the award.
Jasmine has a 3 hour break before their second client, Anthony. Jasmine works with Anthony for 2 hours in the afternoon and is paid for 2 hours.
Jasmine is entitled to a broken shift allowance as they are working a broken shift.
Broken shift allowance
Employees who work broken shifts are entitled to a broken shift allowance. The amount of the allowance depends on whether the employee works a broken shift with one or two unpaid periods.
Broken shifts can only be worked by:
- home care employees
- social and community services employees when undertaking disability services work.
You can find the current shift allowances in our SCHADS Award pay guide (DOCX) | (PDF).
Find out more information from our Library article: Broken shifts in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.
Sleepovers
A sleepover happens when an employee is required to stay overnight at the same location as the client.
A sleepover shift includes a continuous rest period of 8 hours. The sleepover and the hours worked before and/or after the sleepover are counted as one continuous shift.
A sleepover is different to a 24 hour care shift or an excursion under the SCHADS Award. Access our Library article for more information: Sleepovers in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.
An employee isn’t expected to perform regular duties during a sleepover, but they’re required to provide care to the client if needed.
Employees on a sleepover need to be provided with appropriate facilities including:
- a separate room with a bed and clean linen
- access to food preparation facilities and a staff area where possible.
Board and lodging during a sleepover are free for each night the employee sleeps over.
Sleepover pay
An employee on a sleepover gets paid:
- pay for time worked, if applicable
- a sleepover allowance
- a minimum of 4 hours pay before or after the sleepover period.
The sleepover allowance is 4.9% of the standard rate in the SCHADS Award, which is the minimum pay rate for a Social and community services employee level 3 at pay point 3. The allowance is an amount to be paid for each sleepover.
Use our Pay Calculator or download the SCHADS Award pay guide for the current sleepover allowance amount.
An employee gets additional pay if they are required to work during a sleepover. Pay is based on the total time worked during the shift, with a minimum of 1 hour’s pay at overtime rates.
Example: Staying up to support a client
Arden is a disability support worker covered by the award. Arden is required to perform a sleepover for a client.
During the sleepover period, Arden had to help the client 3 times during the sleepover period for the following amounts of time:
- first time - 15 minutes
- second time - 5 minutes
- third time - 10 minutes
The total time worked during the sleepover period is 30 minutes.
Arden gets paid 1 hour at overtime rates in addition to the sleepover allowance for the sleepover.
Tip: Employer record-keeping
Employees should keep a record of all time spent working during a sleepover. This will help calculate their minimum pay for the shift.
Access free templates to help with record-keeping from our Templates page.
Work before or after the sleepover period
An employee can be rostered to work immediately:
- before a sleepover
- after a sleepover, or
- both before and after a sleepover.
Where this happens, the entire period is considered one continuous shift. This includes any hours worked before or after the sleep period.
Employees who are rostered to work before or after a sleepover need to be rostered for a minimum of 4 hours during this work period. If they don’t work 4 hours, they still need to be paid for 4 hours of work.
Employees need to be paid the appropriate ordinary, shift or penalty rate, depending on the time they’re working.
Example: Working less than 4 hours before a sleepover
Laksmi is a home care worker covered by the SCHADS award.
They're rostered to:
- work from 5:30 pm to 9 pm
- sleepover from 9 pm to 5 am
Laksmi works 3.5 hours before the sleepover period.
The minimum pay for a work period before or after a sleepover is 4 hours. Laksmi gets 4 hours pay for this work period at the night shift rate, even though they only worked 3.5 hours.
Example: Working before and after a sleepover
Kym is a disability support worker.
They are rostered to:
- work from 4 pm to 9 pm
- sleepover from 9 pm to 5 am
- work the following morning from 5 am to 8 am.
Kym works 5 hours before and 3 hours after the sleepover period. They get:
- 5 hours pay at the night shift rate
- 3 hours pay at the night shift rate.
Find more information on these rules in our Library articles:
- Pay for sleepovers in the Social, Community, Home Care & Disability Services Award
- Sleepovers in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.
Excursions
Excursions involve social and community services employees providing disability support and supervising clients in activities that involve an overnight stay. Employees must agree to work any excursion shifts.
Monday to Friday excursions
The span of ordinary hours on a Monday to Friday excursion is between 8 am to 6 pm Monday to Friday and is a maximum of 10 hours per day.
An employee on a Monday to Friday excursion gets paid:
- the sleepover allowance for each overnight stay
- the ordinary hourly rate for hours worked within the span of hours
- overtime for hours worked outside the span of hours.
Weekend excursions
The span of ordinary hours on a weekend excursion is between 6 am to 8 pm Saturday to Sunday.
An employee on a weekend excursion gets paid:
- the weekend penalty rates when working on a Saturday or Sunday
- overtime for hours worked outside the span of hours.
Employees on an excursion must be provided with a 10 hour overnight break period. Employees must not be required to perform work during this period.
Example: Working overtime on an excursion
Dan is a full-time disability support worker employed by a care provider.
One of Dan’s regular clients has scheduled a 2 day mid-week excursion and Dan’s employer has asked Dan to work the excursion. Dan agrees.
Dan is rostered to pick the client up from their home at 10 am on the first day, spend one night away and return the client home the next day at 2 pm.
Ordinary hours for a Monday to Friday excursion must be worked between 8 am to 6 pm. Dan’s client goes to bed at 8 pm.
Dan receives a break from 8 pm to 6 am.
Dan is paid the following:
- ordinary hours from 10 am on the first day
- overtime for 2 hours on the first day between 6 pm and 8 pm
- sleepover allowance
- overtime for 2 hours on the second day between 6 am to 8 am.
- ordinary hours from 8 am until the shift ends when they return the client home.
24-hour care
A 24-hour care shift requires a home care employee to be available for duty at the client’s home for a 24-hour period. 24-hour care shifts can only be worked by home care employees by agreement.
During a 24-hour care shift, an employee is only required to provide up to 8 hours of care. Time worked beyond 8 hours is paid at overtime rates. Any additional hours may be refused by the employee if they’re unreasonable.
An employee working a 24-hour care shift can sleep for a continuous period of 8 hours during the shift.
Example: Working more than 8 hours during a 24-hour care shift
Esther is a home care employee and has agreed to work a 24-hour care shift in a client’s home.
Esther and her employer understand that within the 24-hour period Esther is expected to provide up to 8 hours of direct care to the client.
Esther’s work is spread out across the 24-hour period. She provides care before, during and after meal times and at other times during the 24-hour period when the client needs direct assistance.
During the 24-hour shift, Esther works for 8 hours and is paid for 8 hours.
During a different 24-hour shift, the client requires reasonable additional care. Esther is required to work an additional 3 hours across the 24-hour shift.
For this shift Esther is paid for 8 hours of work, plus 3 hours of overtime.
Learn more from our Library article: 24 hour care in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.
Client cancellations
Client cancellation happens when a client cancels or reschedules a home care or disability service:
- within 7 days of the service
- a full-time or part-time employee was rostered to provide the service.
Client cancellation provisions don’t apply to casuals.
When a service is cancelled, the employer can:
- direct the employee to perform other work during those hours
- cancel the whole shift, or
- cancel the affected part of the shift.
If a shift or part of a shift is cancelled, the employer has to either:
- pay the employee the amount they would have been paid if they had worked, or
- provide the employee with make-up time, if the conditions outlined below are met.
Make-up time
Make-up time can only be given to an employee if they were notified of the service cancellation (or reschedule) at least 12 hours before the service was rostered to start.
Rules for working make-up time include:
- the employee must be given at least 7 days’ notice of the new shift, unless the employer and employee agree to a shorter notice period
- employers must follow the consultation rules in the SCHADS Award
- the make-up shift must be worked within 6 weeks of the cancelled service
- the make-up shift can be worked with other clients or in other areas of the employer’s business.
If the make-up shift is paid at a different rate to the cancelled service, the employee gets paid the higher rate.
Example: Client cancellation and make-up shift
Leo is a part-time home care employee covered by the SCHADS Award.
Leo has 2 shifts scheduled with a client next week. One shift is scheduled for 8am Monday and one for 8 am on Tuesday, each for 3 hours.
At 9 pm on Sunday, Leo’s employer calls to say the client has cancelled the services. The employer says they don’t have other work for Leo to do at the rostered times, so they’re cancelling these 2 shifts.
Leo will get paid for 3 hours for the Monday shift even though they won’t be working because they received less than 12 hours’ notice.
The employer tells Leo they’ll get make-up time for the Tuesday shift.
There’s no payment for Leo’s Tuesday shift as it was cancelled more than 12 hours in advance and Leo will be given more than 7 days’ notice for the make-up time.
On Wednesday, Leo’s employer calls to check if they’re available to work the 3 hours make-up time with a different client on Saturday the following week, which is more than 7 days’ notice. Leo says they’re happy to work make-up time a week from Saturday.
Leo is paid the Saturday rate when they work the make-up time as this is higher than the weekday rate they would have received for the original cancelled service.
Find out more on client cancellation from our Library article: Client cancellation under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.
Remote work
Remote work is work performed by an employee that is not:
- part of their rostered ordinary hours or designated shift
- overtime before or after a regular shift
- additional hours worked by a part-time employee
- required to be performed in the designated workplace.
There are minimum payment rules when an employee performs remote work. Different rules apply depending on:
- when work is performed
- whether the employee is on on-call
- whether the remote work involves team meetings or training.
The minimum payment for performing remote work is:
- 15 minutes when an employee is on call between 6 am and 10 pm
- 30 minutes when an employee is on call between 10 pm and 6 am
- one hour when an employee is required to work and wasn’t on call
- one hour when participating remotely in team meetings or training.
If remote work is performed multiple times in one day, the minimum payment will apply for each occasion.
Only one minimum payment has to be paid where an employee works multiple times within a minimum payment period.
Example: Multiple remote work engagements in one day
Katie is a disability services support worker covered by the SCHADS Award.
Katie is part-time employee and works Monday and Tuesday afternoons. Katie’s employer, Marcus, contacts and schedules her to be on call for the following day: Wednesday between 2 pm and 12 am. Katie will be entitled to the on-call allowance.
On Wednesday, Katie receives a call from another disability care worker, Amy, at a client’s home. Katie provides some assistance to Amy from a remote location for 30 minutes, between 3.30 pm and 4 pm. As this call is between 6 am and 8 pm, it's paid at Katie’s minimum hourly rate and meets the minimum payment of 15 minutes.
Later that night, Katie gets another call at 11 pm about a different client. This job takes 20 minutes. As the job was between 10 pm and 6 am, Katie will receive the minimum payment of 30 minutes. Because this call is outside the span of hours, it will be paid at 150% of their normal rate.
Penalty rates while performing remote work
Employees required to perform remote work are entitled to different penalty rates.
Remote work performed between 6 am and 8 pm is paid at the employee’s minimum hourly pay rate unless it attracts one of the following penalty rates.
| Hours of work | Full-time and part-time | Casual |
|---|---|---|
| Outside the span of hours (Between 8pm and 6am) | 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% afterwards | 175% for the first 2 hours and 225% afterwards |
| More than 10 hours per day | 150% for the first 2 hours and 200% afterwards | 175% for the first 2 hours and 225% afterwards |
| More than 38 hours per week or 76 hours per fortnight | the applicable overtime rate in clause 28.1 | the applicable overtime rate in clause 28.1 |
| Saturday | 150% | 175% |
| Sunday | 200% | 225% |
| Public Holiday | 250% | 275% |
For more information on minimum payment rules and remote work, go to our Library article: Remote work under the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award.
Tools and resources
- Pay and Conditions Tool
- Library
- Pay guide
- Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award
- Templates
