INFORM SPRING
SUMMER 2020-21
the official journal of the health & community services union tasmania
CONTENTS 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 28 29 30 31 32 34 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45
Who's who Tim Jacobson: Public sector change/Health care future Robbie Moore: Aged Care Royal Commission Aged care & annual leave What's an unfair dismissal? St Helens holiday home for members Delegates Cheryl Bone & Tom Macintosh Staff profiles: Lizi Ralph & Dorothy Liu Mersey Theatre & Day Surgical Unit redevelopment Thank You For Working in Aged Care Day Delegates Clint Pennicott & Kristie Marshall Has workplace health & safety come of age? Delegate Katie Scott The ever-changing face of community and disability Canberra, look out! Where was the COVID-safe aged care plan? Public sector change seems a constant, but... Disability Workers' Week Sandy Bay holiday home for members Healthscope nurses' industrial action Delegates Susan Webster & Pete Barter Wellbeing at work Standing together at Umina Park Are social issues union issues? Union representation is your right Every site needs a workplace health & safety rep Southport holiday home for members Health & safety committees protect you A selection of recent ramping unhappy snaps How long is long service leave? Professional indemnity malpractice insurance Unions Tasmania COVID-19 worker helpline Putting health and wellbeing first
Please contact Craig at craig.griffiths@hacsu.org.au with your feedback or contributions for future issues of INFORM Editor: Tim Jacobson, HACSU State Secretary. Contact: assist@hacsu.org.au or 1300 880 032. Responsibility for electoral comment in this publication is taken by Tim Jacobson, 11 Clare Street, New Town, Tasmania 7008. Produced by Health and Community Services Union Tasmania Branch (ABN 80 085 253 953). 2019. All rights reserved. Articles published in Inform express the opinion of the authors and are not necessarily those of HACSU. While all efforts have been made to ensure details are correct at the time of distribution, These are subject to change.
HACSU WHO'S WHO COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT
SUB-BRANCHES
Tim Jacobson State Secretary
Leigh Gorringe Ted Sherrin Leonie Halley Stephen Hayes
Robbie Moore Assistant State Secretary Judy Richmond President, Mersey Community Hospital Chris Webb Senior Vice-President, HACSU Holiday Home Maintenance Officer Pru Peschar Junior Vice-President, THS/CCC - S Clarence Integrated Care Centre Leigh Gorringe Trustee, Oral Health Services Eastern Shore Christine Hansson Member, Healthscope Hobart Private Hospital Peter Moore Trustee, NW Disability Services Parkside
ALLIED HEALTH PROFESSIONALS Vanessa Ireland Ben McGregor Anne-Marie Avery Janet Howells
Fiona Jones Kristina Manning Andrew White Daniel Moore
Sophie Mummery Sarah Leighton
Rebecca Gibson David Thomas Corey Armstrong
Alan Blank James Scott
Paul Centofanti Cameron Johnson
Jane Armstrong Susan Banks-Smith Paige Ashwood
Christine Hansson Alison McKenzie Tim Richards
Shalee Richardson Luis del Valle
AMBULANCE Lauren Hepher AJ Heiermann Wil Frost
NURSES
Leanne Cowen Judy Richmond John Coutts
DENTAL Marcus Barton
David Basser
Pam Brock Member, DHHS NW Environmental Health Andrew Challis Member, Southern Cross Care Yaraandoo Nursing Home
STAFF
Mike Coombs Member, Royal Hobart Hospital Medical Imaging
STATE SECRETARY Tim Jacobson
Marlene McHenry Member, Beaconsfield District Health
ASSISTANT STATE SECRETARY Robbie Moore
Melissa Saltmarsh Member, Launceston General Hospital
ADMINISTRATION Angela Cook - Finance Manager Annie Lahtinen - Front Office Laura Binns - Launceston Raylene Woods - Launceston Sarah Langfeldt - Membership Officer Sarah Stanley - Admin Officer Sonia Serbanescu - Admin Officer Tasha Wilson - Admin Manager
Carolyn Shearer Member, Possability - Oak Tasmania David Thomas Member, N Ambulance Tasmania
COMMUNICATIONS Ness Finn - Systems & Comms Manager Craig Griffiths - Media & Publications Dorothy Liu - Communications & Marketing HACSUassist 1300 880 032 assist@hacsu.org.au HOBART: 11 Clare Street New Town LAUNCESTON: 91 Paterson Street DEVONPORT: 80 Oldaker Street
INDUSTRIAL ORGANISERS HACSUassist Lizi Ralph Richard Parkinson Shane Hamel HOBART Chris Kennedy - Industrial Officer James Eddington - Legal Officer Janine Martin Mark Green Shane Kunze Sharon Swards Tammy Munro - Lead Organiser LAUNCESTON Geoff Blyth Kristen Swain Lucas Digney - Senior Organiser Vivek Foot - Lead Organiser DEVONPORT Odette Seabourne Troy Baker
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CHANGE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
STATE SECRETARY TIM JACOBSON IN NOVEMBER 2020 the state government released its interim report from the Review of the Tasmanian State Service. The report can be read here, and any public sector member should have concerns about the review. The government set a 31 March 2021 release date for the final report but we expressed concern in the media and directly with government that this deadline was too soon. The breadth of the terms of reference and the review itself seemed to be very rushed, and the government has now pushed release of the report back to 31 May. The two month delay is welcome but we still believe the review is being hurried, particularly with so much uncertainty about the public sector's role in a post-COVID world. Arriving at a final decision and making significant recommendations and changes during a global pandemic is very risky and could lead to undesirable consequences.
The pandemic isn't over, and how long COVID-19 will exist in a way that presents risks to public health and our economy is unknown, as are the consequences of this. This review is significant as it deals with public sector structures and governance while also touching on many issues relating to employment and workers’ rights. The review makes many meritorious points but there are some that are extremely worrying so, as always, the devil will be in the detail. We provided an extensive response to the interim report and associated issues papers and this can be read here. It follows two previous submissions, HACSU response to the Terms of Reference of the Review of the Tasmanian State Service - January 2020 and Submission into the Review of the Tasmanian State Service October 2020. Since the outset, we've had serious concerns about the review and we
again voiced our issue with the haste in which it was being done. There were just 26 submissions to the review - only 10 were substantial and not all responded to all the terms of reference. We think this low rate is due to the short timeframes and because the pandemic created an environment where all workers were distracted by the immediate workload pressures they were experiencing. We encourage members to read the report and our response and let us know of anything else of concern. Our public sector is vitally important for all Tasmanians and for the workers who keep it running each day.
OUR HEALTH CARE FUTURE
The government recently released an extensive consultation paper called Health Workforce 2040. It's a 20-year workforce strategy for Tasmania that includes allied health, medical and nursing and midwifery. The purpose is to shape a health workforce to meet the needs of Tasmanians now and in the future, looks after those who spend their careers looking after others, and supports our health professionals to follow their career ambitions. The strategy is divided into four documents - a strategic volume and a volume each for allied health, medicine and nursing & midwifery and is available here. We've provided an initial response that included a great deal of feedback from members, which you can read here. We continue pushing for better, safer conditions for all of our members and, of course, we’re here to deal with your own workplace matters. Take care and stay strong, we’re proud to represent you.
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AGED CARE ROYAL COMMISSION ASSISTANT STATE SECRETARY ROBBIE MOOORE AS I WRITE this, the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety is about to hand down its recommendations. It has exposed critical issues such as understaffing and poor working conditions and that we, as a community, aren't providing our own citizens with the dignity and respect they deserve. The Interim Report was tabled in Parliament on 31 October 2019. The report found that:
"the aged care system fails to meet the needs of its older, vulnerable, citizens. It does not deliver uniformly safe and quality care, is unkind and uncaring towards older people and, in too many instances, it neglects them".
explain the current state of aged care and what's needed to ensure older Australians are looked after. We're also starting a social and traditional media advertising blitz across Australia, especially in Tasmania, to get our message out there that aged care needs to become a national priority. Keep your eye out and please join us to campaign for better and more dignified aged care services. We can only deliver quality services to older Australians by ensuring the staff who deliver them have better working conditions, safe staffing levels and decent wages and conditions.
October 2019
HACSU has been at the forefront throughout the royal commission in terms of submissions and appearances as well as broadly campaigning. We've said aged care workers need safe and appropriate staffing levels and much needed improvement to wages and conditions so we can attract and retain quality staff. Hopefully the royal commission will make recommendations about staffing levels - then the keen focus will be on Canberra. Sadly, the federal government has indicated it won't properly respond to the recommendations until it hands down its budget on 11 May, so we're stepping up our national campaign. HACSU branches on a state and national level have committed significant resources to campaign for more aged care workers. A delegation of Tasmanians joined other aged care workers from across the country in Canberra this week to lobby politicians and 3
AGED CARE & ANNUAL LEAVE WITH the ongoing shortage of staff in aged care, members are contacting us wanting to know their rights when it comes to taking their annual leave. Some organisations are actually making it hard for employees to get access to their leave.
Annual leave is accumulated fortnightly and will accrue on a pro rata basis for part time employees. Generally, if you're a permanent or permanent part time employee you accrue 4 weeks annual leave per year of employment. If you're a shift worker who works 10 or more Saturdays or Sundays you are generally entitled to an additional week of leave.
Therefore you should expect to work 48 weeks and be on leave for 4 weeks each year, and if you're a shift worker it'll be work for 47 and on leave for 5 weeks each year.
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On this basis your employer should be able to work out how many staff will be needed to be on leave each week to enable everyone to access their accumulated leave.
While this isn’t a legal requirement it is good practice and many organisations have it enshrined in policy.
It would also be unreasonable for 50 ECA staff to be off at the same time.
Your employer shouldn't unreasonably refuse to authorise you taking an amount of leave that's credited to you, or revoke an authorisation enabling you to take leave during a particular period.
It would be unrealistic if your employer had 300 ECA staff members and only allowed 2 staff to be off at a time as not all staff would be able to access leave each year.
Annual leave is to be taken at a mutually agreed time subject to the operational requirements of the business.
You generally need to give your employer 4 weeks’ notice of your intention to take leave and they should respond to your request within 2 weeks of your request.
The only clear exception to this is leave over Christmas where your employer might send out an email asking for expressions of interest over the Christmas period to be submitted within a certain time frame.
You can be asked to clear excessive leave if you have over 8 weeks accrued leave and generally you can come to an agreement with your employer as to a suitable time to clear your excess leave by a due date.
WHAT'S AN UNFAIR DISMISSAL? IF YOUR employment has been terminated by your employer, or you've been forced to resign, you may be able to make application for an unfair dismissal.
We represent HACSU members in unfair dismissal claims as part of their membership. In most cases we've successfully gained reinstatement or compensation for them.
Your dismissal may be considered unfair if it was:
• Harsh on you due to the economic and personal consequences resulting from being dismissed. • Harsh because the outcome is disproportionate to the gravity of the misconduct (the punishment does not fit the crime). • Unjust because you were not guilty of the alleged misconduct. • Unreasonable because the evidence or material before the employer did not support the conclusion. • Unreasonable because the process used did not afford procedural fairness, for example dismissal was made without a face-to-face meeting. • Not a case of genuine redundancy (if you've been made redundant).
There are some important timelines and points to note before you make application. You must:
• Be an employee who has been dismissed. • Be covered by the national workplace relations system (not a state service employee). • Meet eligibility criteria, including the minimum employment period and minimum number of employees at your workplace. • Lodge your application within 21 days of dismissal becoming effective.
If you feel that you have a case for unfair dismissal, don’t delay! Call HACSU immediately so we can represent you.
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ST HELENS HOLIDAY HOME FOR MEMBERS Affordable holidays for HACSU members HACSU owns and operates member-only holiday homes in three amazing locations across Tasmania: St Helens, Sandy Bay and Southport. Our homes are fully furnished and fitted out with everything you’ll need. Whether you want to spend your holiday adventuring or relaxing, St Helens is the perfect location. Relax on the world-famous Bay of Fires, or take a trip down the Great Eastern Drive and experience the breathtaking views of the East Coast. For more, call 1300 880 032.
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YOUR HACSU DELEGATES CHERYL BONE
Queen Victoria Care
TOM MACINTOSH Healthscope
I get up, make a coffee with breakfast, water the garden, have a quick gym sesh, cycle to work and get the nursing handover. 0800 meds with some banter. 1000 obs, banter. Patient showers. Banter. Discharges and admissions and somewhere along the way sneak a morning tea and lunch break. Cycle home, yoga, garden, cook then chill. I’ve been nursing for the past 8 years in remote NSW, Sydney and Hobart. I became a delegate in 2020 because team is what it’s all about and I’m proud to be a fair voice advocating for good culture and a healthy workplace. As a delegate, I’d like to support those I represent and be someone they can turn to for help and advice. I have a strong interest in business and economics, so pair this with my nursing background and in the future I’d like to explore a pathway to becoming a health economist. My hobbies include fishing, gardening and studying the share market and economics. I work in catering at Queen Victoria Care and my average working day is busy and lots of thinking 'have I done this?' 'have I done that?' from start to finish! I've been there close to 8 years and before Queen Vic I worked in retail at Bridges Bros and Williams The Shoemen.
COVID-19 hasn’t been without frustrations as my family live on the mainland so it was a zoom Christmas, but there is heaps to be positive about, we live in a wonderful country with a wonderful healthcare system and on any one day of the week there are many people and interactions to be grateful for.
Having been a HACSU member for about 5 years I became a delegate in 2020 because I'm passionate about workers' rights. I'd like to achieve a stronger knowledge of those and of how as a group we can overcome the fear of punishment by standing up for our rights. My hope for the workplace in the future is that we can all work together as one rather than being segregated as 'them' and 'us'. Outside of work my fave thing is spending time with my grandchildren and getting away with the caravan. The hardest thing for me in 2020 was not being able to spend time with my young-at-heart elderly mum, and seeing her staying at home in lockdown was heart wrenching as she's very active. If one positive thing has come out of COVID-19 it's to cherish what you have now and don't dwell on the past.
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HACSU STAFF
Lizi NAME: Lizi Ralph HACSU ROLE: Organiser, Contact Centre “I've been at HACSU since mid-2019, so it's about time I introduced myself! Before this job I worked in the Qantas contact centre where I was a union delegate with the Australian Services Union. I have over 10 years of contact centre experience and a few years representing members as a delegate under my belt. Outside of work I enjoy keeping fit with a combination of functional fitness and Olympic Weightlifting. I love throwing weights around at the gym or vegging on the couch watching Netflix with my cat. I’ve always been an active advocate for workplace rights and am excited to be a part of the team here at HACSU. In each place I've worked over the years I've been involved in the union in some manner, either as a delegate or member. My Dad was heavily involved in the ASU for many years so you could say that it’s in my blood! I'm really enjoyng working with the HACSU team and making a difference for our members.”
Dorothy NAME: Dorothy Liu HACSU ROLE: Communications & Marketing Officer "After graduating from university degrees of crosscultural communication and cultural studies I got some relevant work experience in copywriting, marketing and graphic design. I enjoy being engaged with storytelling, visual expression and the creative parts of marketing, but in terms of a job, I also expect mine to do good to the society and to improve lives. I did my internship program with Save the Children and have volunteered at South Sydney Community Aid and Ten Lives Cat Centre. I was thrilled to get the opportunity to work with HACSU as it totally aligns with my ideal job. By joining HACSU I hope I can do my part in protecting the health and community workers at their worksites and improve their work life. During the hardest times of the pandemic, they have fought at the front lines, done amazing jobs and taken risks for the health and safety of others. Outside the office, I go to the gym regularly and spend a lot of time making digital paintings and doing crafts. I love animals and used to be very interested in zoology. Cat is my favourite pet for sure!"
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MERSEY THEATRE & DSU REDEVELOPMENT
WHEN HACSU first heard of the Mersey Theatre and Day Surgical Unit redevelopment we raised the need for a working group. This would give affected staff a chance to have input into what would best suit the everyday operations of the department. THS were receptive of this, and the first meeting late last year revolved around establishing the terms of reference and setting an ongoing agenda. Blueprints were released in a secondary meeting with a feedback period opened so any concerns about the layout could be heard. No concerns were raised so it's proposed that plans will go out for tender in May 2021, with the hope that construction can begin in August. There are two proposals for how the construction could be done, with each having a different effect on staff employed in these areas:
1) A two-stage redevelopment that will allow work in the area to function in a reduced capacity, but will extend the redevelopment to roughly 24 months. 2) Complete in one stage. While this is the quickest route, with an expected construction period of 18 months, it will also mean the full closure of the areas, with requirements for staff to be redeployed to other areas or possibly even another site. While construction is the first step in the process, it has been established that an ongoing agenda will concentrate on the following areas:
- Short and long term staffing. Acorn has been proposed as a base for benchmarking. - Models of care and activity planning to ensure delivery of services. - Workplace Health and Safety risk and risk assessments.
Meetings will be held on a monthly basis and we'll update members as developments occur. It will be a lengthy process but we need to ensure that our voices are heard. If you work in these areas you perform the duties on a daily basis, you know what's required operationally and you know the most efficient way to get your work done, which is why we rely on your feedback. As we fast approach the time blueprints will be opened for tender we're keen to hear which redevelopment proposal members working in theatre and DSU prefer. If you have any queries or topics you feel need to be raised at meetings, please contact HACSUassist and let us know - we look forward to hearing from you.
- Professional development requirements.
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THANK YOU FOR WORKING WE HAD a huge week in September 2020 thanking aged care workers and celebrating with many of them on Thank You For Working In Aged Care Day. Our organisers put in countless kilometres getting to aged care facilities to make sure as many members as possible had the chance to win the prizes on offer! The winners were Lisa Jacklyn from Meercroft, NW coast - Golden Ticket, Sally Walker from Bupa, south - Silver Ticket and Kathryn Allen from SCC Glenara Lakes, north - Bronze Ticket. Aged care workers look after our most vulnerable in the community, and we thank each and every one every day, not just on our annual Thank You Day.
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G IN AGED CARE DAY 2020!
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THANK YOU FOR WORKING
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G IN AGED CARE DAY 2020!
THANK YOU FOR WORKING
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G IN AGED CARE DAY 2020!
YOUR HACSU DELEGATES CLINT PENNICOTT Royal Hobart Hospital
KRISTIE MARSHALL Glenara Lakes
I'm a chef for the Royal Hobart Hospital from 6am to 2pm, Monday to Friday, and my days vary depending on which shift I'm allocated for the day, and these range from hot kitchen, pump room, texture modified, desserts, ingredients or sandwiches and salads. I've been a qualified chef for 16 years, have worked at the RHH for 12 years, and joined HACSU in my early years at the Royal and in September 2020 became a delegate to provide support to union members. I now have a better understanding of the workplace award, I’ve been able to input two health & safety representatives into the workplace and also recruit a few new union members in the process. I’m looking to be able to give employees a voice in the workplace through holding regular workplace meetings and, in the future, I'd like to see all staff treated equally and for everyone to have a safe workplace. When not at work I like to travel the world, play sport, and eat out, and I love a good music festival. The hardest part of 2020 for me was not being able to see loved ones and missing out on music festivals. A couple of positives from the COVID year are that I enjoyed slowing down and spending time at home making sourdough and listening to music by the firepot, and in the workplace I was able to take on the union delegate role that allowed me to gain more knowledge, meet new people and improve the workplace.
As an Extended Care Assistant I usually do afternoon shifts as I have two young children. I've been in the health care industry for 4 years on and off since having my kids and have also worked in community care. Before that I looked after my grandmother until she passed away, then completed my certificate in aged care. I became a HACSU delegate as I like to voice concerns for myself and my colleagues, and I'd like to be able to achieve giving everyone enough confidence to find their voice and raise any concerns they may have. My hope for the future in my workplace is to see better management skills. Outside work I like to chill out at home with my family or go and explore places we haven’t been to. The toughest part of 2020 was having my residents tell me they miss their family members when we were in lockdown and no one was allowed in. A postive that emerged from the way COVID-19 affected my life was I decided to enrol at TasTAFE to complete my diploma of nursing.
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WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY HAS IT COME OF AGE? AS WE strive to reach some form of normality after the initial COVID-19 disruptions we all have a heightened sense of awareness with regard to workplace health and safety, especially in our sector. There have been a number of noted upsides to the pandemic such as the introduction of universal hand washing and sick people staying at home, and we can now put WHS awareness on that list. Whether it be the supply and use of PPE and sanitiser or the reporting of hazards or - dare we say it, hazardous persons - WHS seems to be finally gaining its rightful position as everyone’s best friend. An integral part of building on this trend is to have in place the kinds of supports required to implement, monitor and review WHS management systems to make sure they're not only effective but 100% appropriate for all work areas. To this end, what we need to be mindful of is to have effective and diligent health & safety representatives (HSR) and work health & safety committee (WHSC) members.
In the past, some people in these positions of responsibility were perhaps left untrained and unsupported leading to poor performance in the role. As we move into an uncertain, and still potentially lethal, new COVID-19 landscape we need to do all we can to be prepared and to remain safe. Ideally all work areas should have at least one HSR and all departments should have a WHSC that truly reflects the workforce.
Having a toolbox meeting where nobody has an item to raise is far better than no meeting at all. So if you feel you're not being well represented by an existing HSR then remind them of their responsibilities. If that doesn’t work, and they've been elected for more than three years, ask your HACSU delegate or organiser about how to have a spill of positions and a new election.
That is, the committee should include management, workers and HSRs to ensure a more holistic, balanced view.
Similarly, your work health & safety committee should be opened up to new nominations every three years, although in reality very few are, but that's no reason to not campaign for a fresh committee.
WHSC meetings should be held more, not less often, and short 'toolbox meetings' between workers and supervisors should be at least weekly if not daily.
The bottom line is people are in these important positions to represent and protect you and your colleagues, and that's what they should be doing.
These are often held before shifts to raise current issues and immediate hazards, PPE, first aid, daily tasks etc. A lot can happen in a health care setting in a week as all HACSU members are well aware.
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YOUR HACSU DELEGATE KATIE SCOTT LGH Radiology
I'm a radiographer at Launceston General Hospital. Depending on the number of staff on shift I'll be running between our department, emergency, ICU, theatre and the wards seeing inpatients and outpatients for various imaging procedures as well as teaching students who visit us on clinical placement. I've been in this industry for 13 years with almost 10 of those at the LGH, and while studying radiology I worked as a casual hospital aide at the LGH. In 2011 I joined HACSU, became a delegate in August last year, and so far am enjoying learning about the role of delegates, the union, relevant legislation and the award. As a delegate I want to help improve the culture in medical imaging at LGH and our relationships with other hospital departments through creating professional developement activities and encouraging research. With this we can hopefully improve our recruitment, retention of staff and morale, thus building on our already excellent team. When not at work I enjoy having friends over for dinner, I don’t cook though, that’s down to my chef husband, I'm also addicted to Korean dramas on Netflix. The hardest part of 2020 for me was that every year I try to do a locum somewhere to broaden my experience, but I was unable to do that because of the COVID-19 restrictions, but in the second semester of studies at UTAS last year I completed a COVID subsidised postgraduate certificate in health professional education. 18 6
COMMUNITY & DISABILITY ITS EVER-CHANGING FACE 2020 PRODUCED many unexpected twists and turns and COVID-19 continues to impact on the way we now all work as well as how we go about our lives away from work. The community sector continues to ride a wave of uncertainty around funding and, if lucky enough to receive government money, there's always uncertainty around just how big a slice of the pie it'll get. This creates unnecessary stress and insecurity for those members affected by fixed term contracts or, even worse, those continually having their fixed term contracts renewed during the term of their original contract. That's confusing and scary for workers and their families, and all because it lessens the financial burden on the employer in the event they don't receive any or enough funding to continue with current community programs that may
be heavily reduced or shut down completely. In the disability sector we're seeing the continued impact of the NDIS and how it's affecting members financially, not to mention when, how and the way in which they perform their work. Roster changes aren't always family friendly and workers sometimes have to chase up payroll and HR to recover unpaid contracted hours of work when, for whatever reason, pays are a few hours short here and there. Client choice is another issue creating major concern. It's good that service users have a choice about who they engage to provide for their needs, but in a lot of cases it seems employers have gone straight to end game and told staff, often without any consultation, that they're reducing contracted hours of work.
That sort of thing is hugely difficult and it can be hard for members to understand their rights and available options, but employees do have rights and certain processes must be followed by employer. All a HACSU member needs to remember is don't agree to or sign anything in a rush - just go away, digest it, then call us so we can provide assistance through what can be a traumatic process. The other issue we're seeing a lot more of is allegations against workers, often involving time consuming investigation processes, that have a huge impact on mental health as they're often stood down on full pay for extended periods without knowing what it is they've allegedly done. Anyone impacted by the above situations should contact us immediately as there's no time to waste in these sort of matters.
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CANBERRA, THE ROYAL Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety handed its final report to the federal government on February 26 - and now politicians must deliver a real change in aged care. That week HACSU took aged care members Chrissie O'Brien Karen Fahey and Rachel Brown to Canberra to join other workers to sit down at a round table with senate cross benchers and independents to lobby them to pressure the government to accept the commission’s recommendations.
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The cross benchers are key to ensuring a positive outcome and the passage of any enabling legislation.
• Aged care workers deserve the right number of staff, with the right skills to deliver holistic care for older Australians
They made themselves available as a group, which is highly unusual, to give aged care workers from health unions across the country a chance to make clear the importance of reform for the sector.
• Aged care workers deserve secure employment and not have to work multiple jobs
We discussed 5 asks with the politicians:
• Aged care workers deserve funded and ongoing training and professional development to support their career progression and to help a skilled workforce
• Aged care workers deserve an immediate and significant pay rise
• Aged care workers deserve paid pandemic leave, along with proper infection control training and PPE
LOOK OUT!
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COVID-SAFE AGED CARE?
WHERE WAS THE GOVERNMENT'S PLAN? GOVERNMENT and industry focus is shifting from dealing with the immediate effects of the pandemic to rolling out vaccinations for aged care workers. One thing has become abundantly clear - when it was most needed there was never a comprehensive COVID plan for aged care. Three quarters of all COVID-19 deaths in Australia were in aged care, but at the height of the pandemic in 2020 Scott Morrison seemed more focused on partisan fights with state governments than on practical assistance. Meanwhile the aged care minister, when asked, famously didn’t actually know how many residents had died. Aged care is a federal responsibility but the states were largely left to sort the mess when it all hit the fan. But the issues go deeper than the initial response, or lack thereof.
The government had systematically underfunded the industry and encouraged the creation of low-cost high-profit ‘Jetstar’ operators. Non-profits and government aged care operators were slowly pushed out of the market in favour of big ASX listed aged care providers. It's telling that in Australia’s worst outbreak in Victoria many more infections were seen in for-profit facilities compared with stategovernment owned homes. None other than the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety stated:
‘There is a clear need for a defined, consolidated, national aged care COVID-19 plan’. HACSU is continuing to work to ensure our aged care members are supported and protected.
We worked with sister unions and other peak bodies to hold the federal government to account on issues from infection control support and surge workforce to stockpile PPE availability. Most importantly, we went in to bat for members at individual facilities who were lacking support, staffing or personal protective equipment during lockdowns. We won’t stop working to hold the industry and the government to account but, as the upcoming royal commission final report should show, we need a government that has a plan to take aged care seriously. Acknowledgments: No Plan PM: how government’s lack of an aged care plan cost lives - Michael West
We told the Tasmanian Government that it needed an emergency
2020 Covid-safe
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coordination body for any future outbreaks, and it was established, with HACSU as a sitting member.
Aged Care Plan
TASMANIAN PUBLIC SECTOR CHANGE SEEMS A CONSTANT, BUT... IF THERE'S one thing that's a constant in the Tasmanian public sector it's change, and the change proposals that should come with it - emphasis on 'should'. In both the Health and Human Services and Nurses awards there's a specific clause that governs the process of change.
It says that if management wants to make changes to work arrangements or practices that are likely to impact employees, they must consult with the affected staff and their union before a final decision is made. The process is to inform affected employees about the proposed change and provide a genuine opportunity to influence the outcome before a decision is made. You and your union are to be provided with access to all the relevant information about the change, be given the opportunity to provide feedback, and receive a response to your feedback. There must be four clear stages to a change proposal:
1. Formulation of ideas or proposal 2. Consultation on the proposal 3. Consider feedback and provide response 4. Final decision and implementation There can be a 5th step on some occasions which is when, as a result of the feedback from employees and the union, management withdraw the proposal and restart the process.
the award rules just didn’t apply to them. There was a move in the Mental Health Inpatient Unit to completely change the work practices of more than 15 years by simply sending out an email. The change was to remove the bedroom CCTV in the High Dependency Unit in K Block. Lets forget for a moment that the unit was designed and built with CCTV in place and signed off by many senior, highly paid management officials. Management had discovered, after a visit from a mental health advocacy group inspecting the new K Block, that it could be a breach of patients’ privacy rights to have CCTV in the bedroom. Nurses and staff had access to the CCTV feed and could check on the patient’s wellbeing in between the 15 minute observations, as they'd been doing for the past 15 years. The big issue here is lack of consultation, with management never considering how this sort of change to a long-held work practice could affect staff. They never thought about the safety implications of removing access to the CCTV footage.
to the Industrial Commission, and the commission ruled that management had to provide a change proposal as per the award. We now have a working group on the unit to manage the change and, as an added bonus, fix some of the outstanding construction issues. In Perioperative Services there was a management idea to change the reporting line of the theatre orderlies from the orderly department to perioperative. Part of the idea involved creating a supervisory position, and the problem came when they advertised for the supervisor. The department was hiring a supervisor who didn’t have anyone reporting to them. When we pointed this out to management they realised they needed a change proposal, in fact it should have come before advertising the position. The change proposal process is not optional, it is an award condition not a choice. A change proposal process is put in place to better inform a decision and to influence the outcome to make a better workplace.
Members on the unit contacted us about the intention to remove the CCTV and we immediately If your management want wrote to and then met with local to make a change in your management. workplace they have to follow this process. We reminded them of their obligations under the award and If you suspect they aren't, let further advised that as we were us know because, although in dispute the current status quo they may manage it, it's your was to remain. workplace.
Management proceeded with So that’s the theory, the ‘should’, the removal, we proceeded but some areas recently thought 23
DISABILITY WORKERS W
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WEEK - DECEMBER 2020 DISABILITY support workers are overlooked too often compared to other frontline workers like doctors, nurses and paramedics. During the pandemic year of 2020 we celebrated Disability Workers Week in early December to highlight to the community that disability workers are essential workers too. We visited workplaces, ran BBQs and held other community events to highlight the invaluable and essential work disability support workers do.
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DISABILITY WORKERS W
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WEEK - DECEMBER 2020
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SANDY BAY HOLIDAY HOME FOR MEMBERS Affordable holidays for HACSU members HACSU owns and operates member-only holiday homes in three amazing locations across Tasmania: St Helens, Sandy Bay and Southport. Our homes are fully furnished and fitted out with everything you’ll need. Heading to Hobart? Stay right on the water’s edge in Sandy Bay, in strolling distance of popular beaches, cafés, shops, parks and a secure modern playground. Just seconds from Wrest Point Casino and minutes to the CBD. For more, call 1300 880 032.
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STANDING UP FOR QUALITY CARE HEALTHSCOPE NURSES' INDUSTRIAL ACTION DURING '2020 Year of Covid' the Healthscope staff agreement expired. David Twyford, general manager of workplace relations, asked for an extension as it seemed best during uncertain times, and we agreed. In early September we contacted Healthscope to get things rolling as we'd heard that ANMF had already met, which was unprofessional at best as bargaining is something all parties are meant to participate in. It took weeks to get a meeting date set and, as frustrating as that was, it got worse when we finally did meet as we learned they'd rejected all our members' claims.
Healthscope then started using scare tactics by sending letters to our members saying they were in breach and weren't allowed to be talking about the upcoming bans. We made Healthscope aware of the law that it's part of the campaign and our members are entitled to discuss their plan for upcoming actions. Bans started on 23 February with the wearing of badges and stickers and handing out flyers to patients and the public outlining the reason why nurses have resorted to taking
protected industrial action. These bans allow us to talk about the PIA and discuss it with the media, and radio and news media was done the next day. Our members and the community deserve better than this treatment by Healthscope and their refusal to recognise any issues. Nurses have the support of surgeons working at Healthscope as well as the public, and they're ready to fight for themselves and for their patients.
They also only offered a 1.7% pay increase, saying they were bringing it back in line with the public sector, which is in reality a pay freeze. Members asked for a patient safety clause to be put in place to address the ongoing issues and concerns they have due to the workload and understaffing. We consulted with our members who overwhelmingly voted to start the process of Protected Industrial Action. This PIA was submitted and accepted and in the 11 February 2021 ballot members voted with a resounding YES.
HAVE YOUR DETAILS CHANGED? Moved house? New email address? Changed worksite? New phone? Let us know if any of your membership details change so you don't miss out on vital info or great discounts. It only takes a moment. Simply call 1300 880 032 or email assist@hacsu.org.au 29
YOUR HACSU DELEGATES SUSAN WEBSTER
Mosaic Support Services
PETE BARTER
Devonfield Enterprises
I'm a support worker and each day is different but always full of fun supporting clients in cooking, art or going out in the community to have lunch or shopping. I've been in this job almost 10 years, starting 28 years ago in residential as a support worker, and before that I was a stay-at-home mum and did some waitressing and cleaning at times. I became a HACSU member from the day I started and became a delegate around 5 years ago after being approached by another delegate to become one as I wasn’t afraid to speak up about rights in the workplace. In that role I have a voice at work to let people know about the union, and have also had input into our enterprise agreement, and in the future I'd like us to have the best EA in Australia, one that benefits the workers in all areas of our workplace Away from work I love to relax, go camping, catch up with family and friends and do photography. The hardest part of ‘2020, Year of COVID’ for me was having to work when the kids had to do schooling at home, making sure they were studying while I wasn’t there, but also grateful that I was still working. One positive from the way COVID-19 affected life in 2020 was that I haven’t been sick, as clients and co-workers didn't come in when they were unwell no matter how minor their sickness was.
As a disability support worker for the past 9 years my average working day is supporting 3 clients, medical appointments, following NDIS requirements in getting the clients to support themselves where possible, cleaning, laundry, cooking and outings. I've been a HACSU member for more than 6 years, and became a delegate due to the fact there was no one representing Devonfield, and I'd had union representation over personal issues. Earlier in my working life I was with Bridgestone Motorsports, 15 Years with Ansett flight operations at Sydney Airport, 3 years in car park management in Los Angeles, and was a personal assistant with a high profile international sports identity. As a delegate I've signed several new members and am following up new employees after their 3 month probationary period, and would like to have 100% membership in the future in my workplace. My favourite things to do when not working are traveling, gardening, photography and following formula one and MotoGP. The hardest COVID-19 thing was missing out on my trip to Sri Lanka that was booked for March 2020, and I'll be glad if and when it’s all over.
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WELLBEING AT WORK REMEMBER 'WORK-LIFE BALANCE'? THERE HAS been a much improved understanding of what a healthy work-life balance is, but for some of us the reality is very hard to achieve. Pressures of operational work involve rotational shift work, shift extensions, call-ins and overtime on days off. Some can do operational work as a part-time employee or a casual, but this isn't always by choice, and additional hours and work can be sought after for financial reasons. For others operational work may be done during the normal span of hours but may still involve call-ins or shift extensions to get a day's work done. Sometimes little thought's given to non-operational staff and some green eyed monster stuff can occur between day workers and shift workers. There are issues around the ability to plan social and family events, pre advanced knowledge that a public holiday will be just that etc. The alternative can also occur, jealousy of the ability to have days off during normal working hours, which has many advantages. Non-operational employees often have an endless assignment of tasks, with no completing your workload in a day and a list of priorities for tomorrow, the week or the month.
Some will also take work home so deadlines can be met and some of us will have significant concerns about job security or about a client interaction that went bad. Will I get disciplined? What will the sanction be? Was that a clinical error? Did I get my paperwork right? Do I need to activate my Professional Indemnity Malpractice Insurance? Perhaps you really don't need to do that extra overtime shift even though the money may be handy, there can be a mental and physical price to pay. If you were on duty, and working one short, think about how you'd cope doing that extra shift or overtime to support your colleagues may just be something you tell yourself - they may be fine without you. If you turn up tired, are you a valuable asset or are you more likely to expose yourself and others to additional risk because of exhaustion? Then we all add the pressures of life, the appointment with a medical professional we've put off, the childcare we must rush to so we avoid excess charges, the Christmas concert, school assembly, sporting events, birthdays, parties, quality time with our significant others, staying in touch with our social circles, politics, religion, climate change, relationship
ups and downs, life the universe and everything... Sometimes it can all feel too much. We're all time poor in our own ways and sometimes we can just simply be too tired. So, if you've read this far, what can you do to reset, to get yourself back on stable ground and functioning well for 2021? Make time for you. This could be a quick 5 minutes here or there to have a sit down to do some planning or some relaxing, to do something you like doing, just for you and nobody else. Sometimes professional help is needed, and the best place to start is your GP. Ask for a double appointment to set this up and your GP can provide a Mental Health Care Plan that will give you access to 10 medicare rebates to see other specialists. For more information see https:// www.healthdirect.gov.au/mentalhealth-care-plan Remember it’s OK to not be OK.
STANDING TOGETHER MAKES A
THERE'S a saying that goes, individually we are one drop, together we are an ocean, and this was never more relevant than at Umina Park recently. For some time individuals at Umina Park had gone to management and told them the workload was too much, that more staff were needed and that something had to be done to fix the low morale within the workplace before it risked compromising the care of residents. It wasn't until HACSU members decided enough was enough and that something had to be done together that many of these concerns started to be addressed. Members decided they would take their plea to the community via social media promotion, community letter boxing, holding signs out the front of the facility calling on OneCare to do better, radio stories from staff members and newspaper stories and other media coverage. The community took note and management listened and, while staff didn't get everything they asked for, they were able to achieve extra care hours across the facility, 30% of casual staff became permanent, and recruitment is continuing. Most importantly, it forced management to address many issues they originally claimed didn't exist in the workplace and they also now know members will continue to make noise until they are heard. Well done to those union members who put their faces and voices up front on behalf of all who work at Umina Park - them standing together made the community want to fix the issues that staff within the facility were having, but it also became a timely reminder to all communities that aged care needs fixing NOW! 32
A DIFFERENCE AT UMINA PARK
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ARE SOCIAL ISSUE WHEN unions make a stand on a social issue there's often a discourse about whether it's something a union should be involving itself in, but this is at the heart of what unions have done for nearly 200 years in Australia. In the 1830s unions started to form in Australia due in part to the passing of the NSW Masters’ and Servants Act [1828], which gave colonial authorities the right to prosecute someone who refused to work. This happened because it was a social injustice and workers had to unite with each other to successfully fight back. In the 1850s Australia saw the boom of the Victorian gold rush, but conditions
on the gold fields were terrible as miners couldn't own the land they lived on, were forced by the police to pay extremely high rates for licenses and were denied the right to vote. Miners responded by banding together and on 3 December 1854 we saw the Eureka Stockade rebellion at Ballarat. The diggers lost the battle but just 12 months later reform passed through parliament to address most of the issues raised by the rebellion. Through the late 1800s into the 1900s we saw unions fight for so many things we now enjoy and take for granted - an 8 hour workday, paid annual leave, penalty rates, equal pay for women, sick leave, long service
leave, superannuation, redundancy pay, allowances, meal breaks and rest breaks. But while unions kept fighting for their members to win greater rights at work they never strayed from raising their voices over social injustices and causes that may not have directly affected some or any of their workers. In the late 1960s the Australian trade union movement stood up against the racial injustices in South Africa and strongly denounced apartheid with several unions sending support via APHEDA (Union Aid Abroad) and taking industrial action against the regime by blocking South African ships and refusing to send goods over that would support the regime.
ES UNION ISSUES? When Nelson Mandela was finally released and visited Australia in 1990 he spoke to the ACTU and union members in Melbourne and thanked the Australian union movement for its support over the long struggle. In the 1970s in Sydney the government was set to remove most of the green spaces in the city, demolish historic buildings and evict people from smaller houses to make way for highways and more skyscrapers. The NSW Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) took industrial action and refused to work on sites that were environmentally or socially undesirable. These Green Bans were the first industrial actions of their kind in the
world and it's thanks to the work of those union members that we still have amazing historic areas like The Rocks and all the green space that's left in the Sydney CBD. We saw the NSW BLF come to the fore again in the 1970s with Pink Bans when they refused to work on building sites at Macquarie University after two gay students were kicked out of residential colleges at the university. The union movement and the students had grown a sense of solidarity through their joint fights against the Vietnam War and South African apartheid. The fight stopped when the ban against gay students being allowed on residence ended.
In more recent times we've seen the Australian union movement stand in solidarity with the people of Timor Leste against their struggles with the Indonesian government, successfully campaign against the Howard-era Work Choices industrial relations act, campaign strongly for marriage equality and support the School Strike 4 Climate (Australia) with their rallies. So next time you see a union take a stance on a social issue, know that this is a rich part of the history of the Australian trade union movement. Lending your voice to those who can’t always speak out for themselves to right an injustice in Australia or the world is something to be proud of.
35 photos courtesy of the ACTU https://www.actu.org.au
UNION REPRESENTATION
IT'S YOUR RIGHT If you're a HACSU member who needs to meet with management to discuss your working conditions you have the right to union representation. This could be discussion of hours, workload, workplace flexibility, rosters or any issue that affects your working life. Most employment agreements and workplace policies include processes the employer must follow before doing things like changing your roster or statement of duties and tasks. You can also check agreements and policies to see if there's a special process for disciplinary meetings or anything else relevant to the issue you want to discuss. It’s a good idea to ask management for a copy of all relevant information in writing before the meeting, and this includes your right to access your own personnel file if needed. We suggest calling HACSUassist to contact the employer to make an appointment. You may also need to sit down with a HACSU organiser before the meeting to properly prepare by looking at the issue is and what the preferred outcome is. HACSUassist offers support and guidance for HACSU members and all calls are confidential, just call 1300 880 032. 26 6 36
YOUR WORKPLACE HSR EVERY SITE NEEDS ONE DOES YOUR WORKPLACE have a health & safety representative? HACSU has a growing network of HSRs who help ensure the health and safety of workers is a priority. They work in hospitals, aged care, disability and community services and are elected by their colleagues to ensure the highest standards of health and safety are maintained, and they can take up safety issues with management and employers. HSRs receive proper training on how to recognise and report safety hazards and follow important processes until an issue is resolved, and they receive paid training each year to ensure their knowledge and problem-solving skills are updated.
They know what unsafe work practices look like and what must be done to fix them, and they help give workers greater participation and opportunity to address safety issues with management. It’s important that all workers take an active role in workplace health and safety and that any concerns are taken seriously by their employer. In general, any worker can nominate for an HSR position and, if elected, serve a 3-year term. HACSU strongly encourages the election of HSRs in workplaces as they're a powerful tool in protecting the health and safety of workers.
What's a health & safety rep? An HSR is a worker elected by their colleagues to represent the work health & safety (WHS) interests of that workgroup as per section 68 of the Work Health & Safety Act 2012. They work with the employer to instigate, develop and carry out measures to ensure health & safety at the workplace. This can involve: - Developing WHS policies and procedures - Reviewing measures taken to address risks
Many HACSU HSRs say it’s a rewarding role and their co-workers appreciate the effort they put in.
To find out more about becoming an HSR please contact your organiser or call us.
- Monitoring WHS performance data such as incident and injury reports
They can help you deal with a health or safety concern in your workplace, so if you raise an issue with your supervisor or manager, be sure you tell your HSR too.
If you don’t know who your elected HSR is in your workplace, call HACSUassist to find out.
Powers of a trained HSR:
Not a member of HACSU? Join today!
- Direct workers to 'Cease Unsafe Work' if there is a serious risk of immediate danger - Issue management with a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) when there's a safety problem that hasn't been remedied by consultation with the employer How are HSRs elected? Once workers have requested an HSR election, management has 14 days to commence negotiations with them around specifics of the HSR structure such as workgroup boundaries and the number of HSRs for each workgroup. HSRs must be democratically elected by workers in an open and transparent election process.
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SOUTHPORT HOLIDAY HOME FOR MEMBERS Affordable holidays for HACSU members HACSU owns and operates member-only holiday homes in three amazing locations across Tasmania: St Helens, Sandy Bay and Southport. Our homes are fully furnished and fitted out with everything you’ll need. Go down to Southport and experience far south Tasmania, surrounded by coastal walks and plenty of places to surf, swim and fish to your heart’s content. Not to mention incredible thermal hot springs at Hastings Caves, the Tahune Airwalk, Lune River and Australia’s southernmost pub meals. For more call 1300 880 032.
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HEALTH & SAFETY COMMITTEES THEY HELP PROTECT YOU
DOES your workplace have a health & safety committee? Under section 75 of the Workplace Health and Safety Act of 2012 workers have the right to request establishment of a health & safety committee. This means that bosses and workers must come together to discuss safety issues. The committees established under the Act are ‘required to meet at least once every 3 months and any other time on request of half or more of the committee.’ Bosses can't reject a request to establish a committee if the request comes from a health & safety representative or 5 or more workers at the workplace. Big fines apply if committees aren't established with 2 months of the request being made.
Health & safety committee members are to be given reasonable time to work on safety matters, and it's always paid time. Your boss should approve this and it's not normally a trigger for overtime. There are substantial fines if bosses don’t allow committee members time to work on safety matters. Committee members must be given or have access to all relevant information relating to hazards, including associated risks, at the workplace and the health and safety concerns of workers at a workplace. This may include being able to see all incident reports which relate to safety events including workplace injuries.
Health & safety reps have powers under the act, but health & safety committees don’t have to just include HSRs - anyone can be appointed to a committee. Where an injury is involved the boss mustn't disclose the identity of the worker to the committee members. This is to comply with the privacy obligations and fines are included under the Act if they do name the injured worker. Remember, if there's any health and safety issue in a workplace, and the issue isn’t raised, there’s a fair chance it’ll never be addressed. Any member who wants more info about having a health & safety committee in the workplace can simply contact us at HACSUassist via assist@hacsu. org.au or 1300 880 032.
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A SELECTION OF RAMPING UNHAPPY
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Y SNAPS FROM DEC 2020 TO FEB 2021
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LONG SERVICE LEAVE
HOW LONG IS LONG?
PORTABLE LSL In a limited number of industries, such as construction and the public sector, it's possible to transfer long-service leave entitlements between employers as long as you remain in the same state. This portable LSL is mostly done through legislated schemes that employers in those industries pay into, and which administer the funds for you. Interestingly, it's not often taken when it falls due, and the Institute of Actuaries of Australia estimated the total value of long service leave benefits in Australia was around $16.5bn in 2001.
A SIGNIFICANT number of calls to HACSUassist are about long service leave and how it applies to a member's current situation, but there's no one answer that covers all circumstances.
CAN I TAKE LONG SERVICE LEAVE?
There may not be a one size fits all set of rules, but here's a summary of LSL history, what it means to some workers, and a number of common questions.
Absences and interruptions such as annual leave, parental leave, sick leave, jury leave and others will not impact on your ‘continuous employment’ but only some of them will count towards the required time of ‘continuous employment’.
A LITTLE HISTORY Long service leave is a benefit unique to Australia and New Zealand, and some public servants in India, and relates to our colonial heritage. It comes from the concept of furlough, or 'verlof' a Dutch word meaning leave of absence, and its usage originates in leave granted from military service, not necessarily with pay, that was implemented as a way to temporarily be laid off. In the 19th century furlough became a privilege granted by legislation to the colonial and Indian Services, and in Australia it was first granted to Victorian and South Australian civil servants. The nature of the leave allowed civil servants to sail ‘home’ to England, safe in the knowledge they could return to their positions when they got back to Australia. From 1950 to 1975 the concept spread, mainly as a result of pressure from employees through their unions seeking fairness compared with the public service. Half a century later we may be about to experience a repeat of history.
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The two main factors are the amount of time since your employment started and continuity of service - an uninterrupted span of time working for your employer.
If you work less than full time hours there are a minimum number of hours to be worked to maintain continuity. Depending on your employment sector, private or public, years of service is a component in calculating your eligibility. For example it may take 15 years service in the private sector to achieve the same entitlement as 10 in the public sector. WHAT LSL AM I ENTITLED TO? This depends on which legislation applies to you - Private Sector - Long Service Leave Act 1976 or Public Service - Long Service Leave Act (State Employees) Act 1994 - but both Acts state you are entitled to access long service leave after completing 10 years of continuous employment. DO CASUAL EMPLOYEES GET LSL? Yes, if you meet the continuous employment provisions. CAN I CASH-IN MY LSL?
Private sector: Yes. By agreement, you
may cash it in by receiving payment in lieu or taking a mix of cash and leave.
Public sector: No. The entitlement is to a period of leave, for which normal salary is payable. IS LSL THE SAME AUSTRALIA-WIDE? The National Employment Standards don't contain a consistent LSL standard, so each state and territory has its own legislation and in Tasmania these are Long Service Leave Act 1976 and Long Service Leave Act (State Employees) Act 1994. IS LSL AN ENTITLEMENT ON TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT? If you've completed at least 7 years ‘continuous employment’ you will be entitled to a pro rata LSL payment if employment is terminated by the employer for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct. For you to be denied pro rata LSL, termination must have occurred because of ‘serious and wilful misconduct’. PRO RATA ALLOWANCES If you complete 7 years continuous employment, you may be entitled to a prorata allowance, if you: - Cease employment because of ill health - Resign because of domestic of other pressing necessity - Retire, are made redundant or are dismissed for any reason other than serious and wilful misconduct - Die Whether a particular case constitutes a “domestic or other pressing necessity” depends on the situation, here are just a few examples: - Moving to another location to be married - Relocating due to transfer of a spouse - Full-time care of a child or sick relative Supporting documentation, such as a doctor’s certificate or letter from spouse’s employer, is required. MORE QUESTIONS? HACSUassist can give you further help with your enquiries on 1300 880 032 or assist@hacsu.org.au
PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY MALPRACTICE INSURANCE You can’t afford to be without it If you work in a role where you provide personal care, your HACSU membership includes free Professional Indemnity Malpractice Insurance (PIMI) that covers you for claims up to $10,000,000. PIMI is a type of insurance that protects you in the case of someone making a claim for loss, damage or injury as a result of how you’ve performed at work, and it’s essential to have it if you’re in a personal care role. Your employer doesn't provide this insurance, it’s your responsibility to make sure you have it, and many pay far too much for third-party PIMI or don’t have it at all. For a copy of the policy terms and conditions, ask your HACSU organiser or call us on 1300 880 032.
PEACE OF MIND
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COVID-19 Worker Helpline What has COVID-19 meant for your work? Do you need advice on your workplace conditions, rights, wages or health and safety? Do you have questions around JobKeeper or other support for workers? Unions Tasmania is providing FREE advice to any Tasmanian whose job has been impacted by COVID-19. If you need workplace advice, please get in touch: (03) 6216 7616 covidhelp@unionstas.com.au DM: @unionstasmania
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putting health and wellbeing first women need to place more importance on themselves. When it comes to health and wellbeing, women need to place more importance on themselves. We all know how important it is, but how much time do we actually spend focusing on our own health? No one will deny that the healthier you are, the better it is for you, your family, your work and the life you want to lead. When it comes to your super your health is also a factor. The healthier you are as you age, the more likely you’ll be able to retire when you want to and enjoy a long and active retirement. Your health also affects your ability to obtain life insurance and the premiums you pay. At HESTA, 80% of our members are women. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports that Australia's health workforce is predominantly female with seven female nurses for each male nurse. SOME WORRYING STATS ON THE HEALTH OF AUSTRALIAN WOMEN Unfortunately, many of us spend so much of our lives looking after others that we’re just not looking after ourselves. AIHW data shows 59% of women don’t get enough aerobic exercise and 79% are not meeting muscle strengthening guidelines. We’re also not eating well enough with 44% of women not meeting the recommended fruit intake and a whopping 89% of us not eating our five serves per day of vegetables. One in nine women still smoke and one in three drink more than the recommended intake of alcohol. On top of that, 60% of women are overweight or obese. While Australian women do generally have a higher life expectancy than men, they tend to be more likely to live with chronic disease such as arthritis, diabetes, back problems, osteoporosis and mental health conditions. https://www.hesta.com.au
IT’S TIME TO PUT YOURSELF FIRST While it might feel like something of a cliché or an indulgence you don’t really have time for, it’s important for you to periodically take stock of your own health and general wellbeing. Making time to exercise, get more sleep and prepare healthier meals can make a huge difference to how you feel and may reduce your risk of chronic illness in the future. Of course, cutting down on alcohol consumption, quitting smoking and trying to manage your stress helps too. HELP IS OUT THERE If the worst happens and your health does affect your ability to work – don’t despair. HESTA members have access to insurance through their super (you receive it automatically when you become eligible). You can check what cover you have by visiting your online account. Our insurer, AIA, provides health coaching to support you and your health goals. Here are some ways AIA’s rehabilitation programs can help you when making an insurance claim: CANCERAID To address the mental health impact caused by ill health and anxiety, the CancerAid Coach Program now provides all new, ongoing and past program participants with in-app and email messages from CancerAid. They provide peer-reviewed and medically reliable information from peak bodies including practical tips and information from Cancer Australia. This information can help patients receiving or recovering from treatment to better manage their care and reduce the risk of infection. MIND COACH AIA has developed many modules in their Mind Coach program to help members who are feeling overwhelmed by their health needs. The Mind Coach program gives you your own personal health coach, who uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy-based principles to help you with your recovery. You can access seven weekly telehealth sessions if you’re struggling with depression and/or anxiety. MENTEMIA Mentemia is a wellbeing app for everybody, every day. It’s been developed to help manage stress, anxiety, and worries. The app provides a range of tools full of practical tips and techniques to help support mental wellbeing – so you can function well and thrive. Download Mentemia for free from the App Store and Google Play.
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