May brings a range of important workplace relations developments that HR and business leaders need to be aware of. In this month’s HR Update, we break down key Fair Work decisions and regulatory changes affecting part-time employees, sleepover shifts under the SCHADS Award, transport fuel cost recovery obligations, and recent updates to the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool. We also highlight practical actions and updated HR Central resources to help you stay compliant and confidently manage your workforce.
Ruling on Part Time Workers – How it Affects Your Business
We would like to present a summary of a recent case that will have implications for how businesses manage part time employees.
The proceedings were prepared by the Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (AMIEU) against Woolworths and heard before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFRCOA). Woolworths was found to have contravened the Fair Work Act with respect to its treatment of three part time employees in one its Perth stores and was ordered to pay a fine of over $230,000.
The following errors were highlighted in the case:
- The part time employees were not provided with their contractual hours of work as specified in their contracts of employment.
- They were not provided with a predictable pattern of work.
- They were required to work additional hours without consent, and on occasion without paying overtime.
- Standard rosters were changed without following processes.
- Contracts were unilaterally changed without consent from the employees.
- There were unauthorised deductions from payments to employees.
Lessons Learned from This Ruling
This case highlights the importance of strict compliance with part-time employment provisions, particularly during onboarding and roster management. Some key points are below.
- All part time employees should have a guarantee of predictable hours and must be paid for the total agreed hours specified in their contract, including ordinary hours per week and the days and time
- Employees may work additional hours beyond their guaranteed part-time hours only if the request is reasonable and they consent. Additional hours must be paid at the appropriate overtime rates prescribed by the award or agreement. Even if a business is quiet, part time hours cannot be unilaterally reduced and must be paid for.
- Any changes to rosters must follow the notice and consultation requirements in the applicable award or enterprise agreement. In most cases, changes require genuine agreement (often confirmed in writing).
- Changes to an employee’s contract of employment (including guaranteed hours) also cannot be made unilaterally. Variations require mutual agreement.
- Employers must not make deductions from an employee’s pay unless the deduction is authorised in writing by the employee and complies with the requirements of the Fair Work Act.
Recommended Actions
- Review all part-time contracts and roster practices to ensure they clearly specify guaranteed hours and a predictable pattern of work.
- Update internal processes for roster changes, additional hours requests, and payroll deductions.
- Provide clear written agreements and maintain proper records of any variations or authorisations.
HR Central have updated guidance documents and templates in your HRC Resources Suite as below.
- Reference – Deductions
- Template – Authorised Deduction Letter
- Checklist – Employee Pay Deductions
Changes to Storage Services and Wholesale Award
Changes have also been made to the Pay and Conditions Tool for the Storage Services and Wholesale Award (MA000084). The information regarding when overtime applies for shift workers has been amended in the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool.
Decisions on Sleepover Provisions in SCHADS
In a decision on 20th March 2026, the Federal Court of Australia has confirmed that homecare, disability and social workers are not entitled to penalty rates for shifts worked immediately before or after sleepovers. Under the provisions of the Social, Community and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award, sleepovers are separate and distinct periods of time that do not form part of a shift.
Under this reasoning sleepovers can be treated as breaks between shifts and if an employee works immediately before and after a sleepover, those periods should not count as one continuous shift, for the purposes of calculating night shift penalties.
SCHADS Sleepover Rules
Consider these rules when your employees are rostered for a sleepover:
- The employee must be rostered or paid for a minimum of 4 hours’ work before or after the sleepover
- If the employee is not required to perform work during a sleepover, they will only be paid the sleepover allowance.
- If the employee is required to work during a sleepover, they will receive the sleepover allowance and at least 1 hour’s pay at overtime rates.
- For shift workers, the 15% night shift penalty rate applies Monday to Friday only (finishing after midnight or starting before 6am). Weekend night work attracts higher weekend penalty rates instead. Non shift workers should refer to the applicable evening and night penalty rates in the Award, which apply seven days a week.
New Developments
However, as this previous decision is contrary to the Fair Work Ombudsman’s (FWO) understanding, an application has been made to vary the sleepover provisions in the SCHADS Award. Submissions and consultation are still occurring with an unconfirmed determination date set for the 1 June 2026.
The FWO’s detailed guidance pages have not yet been fully updated to remove the old “one continuous shift” wording, so they still contain the pre-appeal position in places. The FWO explicitly notes this and says it will update once the FWC process is complete.
It is also important to note that the changes will apply prospectively only (no retrospective changes).
Possible Upcoming Changes
Maximum number of ordinary hours that can be worked before and/or after a sleepover will change. A maximum of 12 ordinary hours may be worked before and after a sleepover with the provision that no more than 8 ordinary hours can be worked on one side. This is an increase (but only in the case of sleepover shifts) from a maximum of 10 ordinary hours per shift.
Clarification that a sleepover is not a rest break between shifts. Clause will clarify that a period of work performed immediately before and immediately after a sleepover period shall be treated as part of the same shift.
Clarification relating to overtime where a shift crosses 2 days. The clauses will be changed to clarify that all time worked by employees which exceeds 10 hours (or 12 hours in the case of sleepovers) either per day or per shift will be paid at overtime rates.
Confirmation of changes to when penalty rates apply in sleepover shifts. Previous (and current for now) Fair Work advice has said that the entire shift (both periods) get the appropriate penalty (i.e. if the end of the morning part of the shift was after midnight, both portions of the shift incurred the night shift penalty). The Jats Joint case overturned this, but Fair Work continued to provide this interpretation pending an appeal and award review. The amended clause will spell out that where an employee is rostered to perform work immediately before and immediately after a sleepover period, the portion of work prior to and following the sleepover will be treated separately for the purposes of determining shift loadings.
Summary of Current and Possible Future Interpretations
| Question | Current Interpretation | Future Interpretation |
| Are sleepovers part of a shift? | No – sleepovers are separate and distinct. | No, but work before and after is treated as one continuous shift. |
| Is a sleepover a rest break between shifts? | Yes – it can be treated as a break. | No – explicitly clarified that it is not a rest break |
| Work before and after sleepover | Treated as separate periods/shifts. | Treated as part of the same single shift. |
| Maximum ordinary hours around sleepover | Standard 10 hour limit per shift applies separately to before/after portions. | Up to 12 ordinary hours total (by agreement), but max 8 hours on one side only. |
| Overtime trigger | Based on each separate portion (exceeds 10 hours per day/shift). | All time exceeding 10 hours (or 12 hours for sleepover shifts) per day or shift is overtime. |
| Night shift penalties (15%) | Apply only to the actual work portion if it finishes after midnight or starts before 6am. | Apply only to portions meeting criteria, finishes after midnight or starts before 6am. calculated separately for each portion, but shift treated as single unit for overtime/break purposes. |
Also, please note that information regarding when overtime applies to shift workers on excursions has been amended in the Fair Work Pay and Conditions Tool on 15th April, effective from 1 July 2019.
Road Transport Contractual Chain Order – Fuel Cost Recovery – 21 April 2026
The Road Transport Contractual Chain Order – Fuel Cost Recovery – 2026, issued by the Fair Work Commission, commenced on 21 April 2026 and applies where at least one primary party in the chain is a constitutional corporation. It represents a shift from past arrangements which rely on fixed-price contracts with limited adjustment mechanisms, introducing a system that requires ongoing recognition or fuel cost changes.
Who does it apply to?
First, the order captures businesses that engage transport services, even if transport is not their core activity. This includes large retailers, supermarkets, manufacturers, construction companies, wholesalers, and mining or resource companies. If these businesses contract another party to move goods by road, they are considered “primary parties” and must ensure the rates they pay allow for fuel cost recovery. While small business employers under the Fair Work Act 2009 are exempt from the obligation to take reasonable steps to ensure other comply, they must ensure their own contracts allow for fuel cost recovery and may still be affected indirectly through increased transport costs passed on to them.
Secondly, it applies to road transport businesses and labour hire entities that sit between the client and the driver. These “secondary parties” often manage fleets or subcontract work further. They now have a direct obligation to pass through fuel cost increases to the next party in the chain, rather than absorbing or delaying those costs.
Thirdly, the order directly benefits and applies to those performing the work. These parties must receive adjusted rates that reflect increased fuel costs, rather than bearing those increases themselves.
These parties include:
- owner drivers operating as sole traders
- small family-run transport businesses
- subcontract drivers engaged by larger fleets
- “employee-like workers” in transport arrangements
- regulated road transport contractors
The order also extends to digital labour platform operators in the road transport industry and those coordinating or facilitating road transport work (for example, freight matching or delivery platforms).
What does the order require?
The order creates a recurring obligation for each party to pass through fuel cost increases down the contracting chain. Primary parties must take reasonable steps to ensure that secondary parties engaging regulated road transport contractors or road transport employee-like workers adjust the rates they pay to ensure recovery of the increased cost of fuel.
Adjustments must be made within each fortnight or twice per calendar month. Increases are measured against the cost of fuel as it was on or before 6 March 2026, meaning only the difference between current costs and that baseline, the “increased cost of fuel”, triggers the obligation.
Adjustments can be made by:
- an adjustment to the rate or a component of the rate;
- the introduction of a fuel increment or levy;
- a direct reimbursement;
- offset of money expended upon the increased cost of fuel; or
- any combination of these.
If a contract or enterprise agreement already contains a “rise and fall” formula or cost model that accounts for recovery of the increased cost of fuel, that mechanism satisfies the obligation – provided it actually delivers the adjustment.
When will the order not apply?
The requirements will cease to apply if the weekly average national terminal gate price for diesel, as measured in the weekly diesel price report of the Australian Institute of Petroleum, falls below 2.00 per litre or when the order is cancelled.
Small Business and Sexual Harassment in the Workplace:: A $90,000 Case
Additionally, we’ve posted a separate blog post chronicling the outcomes and rulings of the Federal Circuit and Family Court on a sexual harassment claim in the workplace.
Click Here to read this article in full.
Need Advice?
And as always, we welcome you to contact our team if you have any questions regarding this matter or any other HR concerns. You can contact us by emailing hr@hrcentral.support, or by giving us a call at 1300 717 721.
