IN THE LEAD up to the federal election, tainted hero Steve Irwin has lined up behind the federal government with he and his wife Terri being named Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) Ambassadors.
IN THE LEAD up to the federal election, tainted hero Steve Irwin has lined up behind the federal government with he and his wife Terri being named Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs) Ambassadors.
In his last official engagement as Employment Advocate, Jonathan Hamberger will officially recognise Australia Zoo’s status as an AWA ambassador. The Office of the Employment Advocate, which administers these employment agreements, recently approved Australia’s 500,000th AWA. Australia Zoo is the latest of more than 30 employers who have agreed to publicly speak out about the advantages AWAs have created for their business.
Through the use of these individual contracts, Australia Zoo has created a successful working culture that has been recognised with many awards including the 2002 and 2003 Queensland Tourism Award and also the 2003-2004 Australian Tourism Award for Major Tourist Attraction.
Growing from 50 to 450 staff within two years Australia Zoo has used AWAs for their simplicity and fairness, according to the celebrity couple. Employing occupations from drivers and labourers to roving entertainers and reptile keepers, management wanted to treat every employee equally and cater for a seven-day operation.
According to Human Resources Manager, Sandy Whitehead, AWAs have helped form a more effective working relationship between management and staff.
“We went from multiple awards down to one AWA for everyone in our team,” she said. “It made for payroll simplicity as well as fairness across the board. Instead of dealing with different penalty rates for public holidays and weekends, we pay a higher rate all year round. Our animals sometimes require extra care and attendance which means we also need to have flexibility with our working times, which we can do under our AWAs.”
As well as offering staff time in lieu for public holidays worked, one of the key features of the zoo’s AWAs is the option to cash in or roll-over unused sick leave at the end of the employee’s anniversary year. Management see the move as a real incentive to reducing the likelihood of unwarranted ‘sickies’ and staff see it as a reward for attendance.
“Our staff are important to us, and they realise the necessity for excellent health and well-being to maximise achievements and results. Many of our staff have made positive lifestyle changes,”. Whitehead said. “AWAs are excellent in terms of keeping it simple. So many people get confused with industrial relations issues and awards. As a base document to build our policy on, I couldn’t ask for anything better.”
