Edited version of administratively binding advice

Authorisation Number: 1012563061461

Advice

Subject: Superannuation guarantee (SG) obligations

Question 1

Do earnings in respect of the on-call allowance paid to employees under a clause of an Employment Agreement form part of the employee's ordinary time earnings (OTE) for the purposes of subsection 6(1) of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 (SGAA)?

Advice

No. Refer to 'Reasons for decision'

Question 2

Do earnings in respect of the recall payment, paid to employees under a clause of an Employment Agreement form part of the employee's OTE for the purposes of subsection 6(1) of the SGAA?

Advice

No. Refer to 'Reasons for decision'

This advice applies for the following period:

From 1 July 2013

Relevant facts and circumstances

The Employer is seeking advice in relation to if the following payments form part of the employees ordinary time earnings in relation to their SG obligations:

· On-call payments

· Recall payments

In relation to the types of payments, the employer provides the following information from the Agreement:

On-call and recall payments

- Many employees are required to be 'on-call' outside their 'ordinary' hours of work.

- 'On-call' periods are rostered to ensure that the responsibility for additional shifts is distributed across the employee population.

- 'On-call' refers to the employee's making themselves available to attend to a given situation during the 'on-call period', either via telephone assistance or by physical return to work.

- When an employee is rostered 'on-call' they receive an on-call allowance which is a percentage of their ordinary time hourly rate of pay for each on-call period.

- Where an employee provides assistance over the telephone during the 'on-call' period and the time involved exceeds 15 minutes, or they are required to return to duty outside their ordinary hours, they are paid at the rate of time and a half for the first two hours and double time thereafter as a recall payment.

Relevant legislative provisions

Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 Subsection 6(1).

Reasons for decision

Summary

The earnings of employees who are engaged under the Agreement in respect of the:

· on call allowance, and

· recall payment,

do not form part of the employees OTE as the earnings paid are not paid in relation to the employees ordinary hours of work.

Detailed reasoning

The SGAA places a requirement on all employers to provide a minimum level of superannuation support for their eligible employees by the quarterly due date, or pay the SG charge.

From 1 July 2008, employers must use OTE as defined in subsection 6(1) of the SGAA as the earnings base to calculate the minimum superannuation guarantee contributions for their employees. This ensures that all employees are treated the same for superannuation purposes.

Ordinary time earnings

OTE, in relation to an employee, is defined in subsection 6(1) of the SGAA and is the lesser of:

a) the total of the employee's earnings in respect of ordinary hours of work and earnings consisting of over award payments, shift loading or commission, but does not include lump sum payments made on termination of employment in lieu of unused sick leave, unused annual leave and unused long service leave; or

b) the maximum contribution base for the quarter - the maximum contribution base, which is the maximum limit on the amount of superannuation support that an employer is expected to provide for the benefit of an employee. The maximum contribution base for the 2013-14 year of income is $48,040 per quarter. This amount is indexed annually according to the indexation factor.

The Commissioner's views on OTE generally, including an employee's ordinary hours of work, are included in Superannuation Guarantee Ruling SGR 2009/2 Superannuation guarantee: meaning of the terms 'ordinary time earnings' and 'salary or wages' (SGR 2009/2).

Paragraphs 13 to 15 and 18 of SGR 2009/2 address the meaning of 'ordinary hours of work' and state:

13. An employee's 'ordinary hours of work' are the hours specified in his or her ordinary hours of work under the relevant award or agreement, or under a combination of such documents, that governs the employee's conditions of employment.

14. The document need not use the exact expression 'ordinary hours of work', but it needs to draw a genuine distinction, for the purposes of the award or agreement, between ordinary hours and other hours. In particular, it would be expected that the other hours are remunerated at a higher rate (typically described as overtime) than the ordinary hours, or otherwise identifiable as a separate component of the total pay in respect of non-ordinary hours.

15. Any hours worked in excess of, or outside the span (if any) of, those specified ordinary hours of work are not part of the employee's 'ordinary hours of work'.

18. 'Ordinary hours of work' are not necessarily limited to hours to be worked between 9.am and 5pm. Monday to Friday. They may (depending on the provision in the relevant award or agreement, if any) and include hours to be worked at other times, including at night, on weekends or on public holidays.

Paragraphs 25 and 26 of SGR 2009/2 provide that earnings 'in respect of ordinary hours of work' means all earnings other than overtime. Paragraphs 25 and 26 state:

25. All amounts of earnings in respect of employment are in respect of the employee's ordinary hours of work unless they are remuneration for working overtime hours, or are otherwise referable only to overtime or to other hours that are not ordinary hours of work. There is no such thing as earnings that are merely in respect of employment generally and are not OTE because they are not in respect of any particular hours of work.

26. ….the central question posed by the definition of OTE in the SGAA is what amounts are 'earnings in respect of ordinary hours of work'….

Paragraph 27 of SGR 2009/2 relates to allowances and loadings and if these specific kinds of payments form part of an employee's OTE. Paragraph 27 states:

27. Many employees receive various additional payments that are described as allowances or loadings and that are paid to employees to recognise or compensate for certain conditions relating to their employment. Examples:

· a 'site allowance' paid fortnightly at a flat rate in acknowledgement of the displacement an employee undergoes when a job requires him or her to work in a remote location;

· a 'casual loading' of 20% of the basic ordinary time rate of pay paid to a casual worker in lieu of any fixed, regular minimum hours of work and of paid leave entitlements;

· a 'dirt allowance' paid as a flat rate in acknowledgement of the conditions in which the work is undertaken; and

· a 'freezer allowance' paid at the rate of an extra $2.50 per hour to employees, such as some supermarket employees, who perform most of their duties in cold storage facilities.

These kinds of payment are OTE except to the extent that they:

· are not 'salary or wages', for example if they are payments of a predetermined amount to offset or reimburse particular expenses (see paragraph 72 of this Ruling); or

· relate solely to hours of work other than ordinary hours of work (see paragraphs 41 to 43 of this Ruling).

Paragraphs 41 to 45 of SGR 2009/2 relate to certain specific kinds of payments that are not OTE. Paragraphs 41 to 43 relate to overtime payments and state:

41. Payments for work performed during hours outside an employee's ordinary hours of work are not OTE.

42. This is so whether the payments are calculated at an hourly rate or the employee gets a specific loading, or an annualised or lump sum component of a total salary package, that is expressly referrable to overtime hours as remuneration for overtime hours worked.

43. However, some employees, particularly some managers and professionals, receive single undissected annual salary within a remuneration package that recognises in a non-specific way that the employee may often be expected to work more than the ordinary hours of work prescribed. The whole amount of salary payable under such a package is OTE, unless overtime amounts are distinctly identifiable as mentioned in paragraph 42 of this Ruling.

Paragraphs 44 and 45 of SGR 2009/2 relate to on-call allowances and state:

44. An on-call or availability allowance is a payment to an employee for making himself or herself available at certain times to be called into work if needed. This entitlement is separate from the salary or wages he or she will receive if actually called in. If paid in respect of hours that the employee is not otherwise working, these payments are not OTE.

45. In some cases on-call allowances are paid as a loading on the salary of an employee received for ordinary hours of work. For example, some doctors employed by hospitals are paid an extra hourly allowance, while carrying out routine duties in ordinary hours of work, to make themselves available to perform urgent surgery if required. Payments of that kind are OTE (except of course to the extent that they are paid in respect of overtime hours).

Application of the law to your circumstances

Question 1 - on-call allowance

Under the Agreement, an full-time employee's ordinary hours of work are 38 hours per week with a maximum of 8 hours per day.

A condition of their employment requires employees be rostered to provide on-call services and to make themselves available to return to duty in a period of time beyond their ordinary hours of work.

Under a clause of the Agreement, an employee who is rostered to be on call is paid an allowance equal to a percentage of their ordinary time hourly rate for each on call period.

Paragraph 27 of SGR 2009/2 provides that additional payments made to employees to recognise or compensate employees for certain conditions relating to their employment are OTE except to the extent that they relate solely to hours of work other than ordinary hours of work.

As the on-call allowance paid to employees under a clause of the Agreement relates solely to hours that are outside the employees' ordinary hours of work, this allowance does not form part of OTE for the purposes of subsection 6(1) of the SGAA.

Therefore, the Employer does not have an obligation to make SG payments in respect of the on-call allowance.

Question 2 - recall payment

Under a clause of the Agreement, an employee may provide an on-call attendance by telephone (extending beyond 15 minutes per call) or by physical return to work.

Under a clause of the Agreement, an employee who attends an on-call or is recalled to duty is paid at the rate of time and one half their ordinary time rate for the first two hours and double time thereafter.

Paragraph 14 of SGR 2009/2 specifies that there needs to be a genuine distinction between ordinary hours and other hours and it is expected that other hours are remunerated at a higher rate, typically referred to as overtime, or are otherwise identifiable as a separate component of the total pay in respect of non-ordinary hours.

Paragraph 41 of SGR 2009/2 provides that payments for work performed during hours outside an employee's ordinary hours of work are not OTE.

As the recall payment is paid to employees under a clause of the Agreement is paid at a higher rate and relates to hours that are outside of the employees' ordinary hours of work, this payment does not form part of OTE for the purposes of subsection 6(1) of the SGAA.

The employer does not have an obligation to make SG payments in respect of the recall payment.

Conclusion

The payments made to employees in respect of the:

· on call allowance, and

· recall payment,

do not form part of the employees OTE. The earnings in respect of this allowance and payment are in respect of hours which do not form part of the employee's ordinary hours of work which is their rostered duty hours in the Agreement.

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