Airline tickets as employee incentives: report

Bosses are giving their workers extra leave and even airline tickets instead of wage increases to retain staff in a tight labour market, a report into collective workplace agreements has found.

But an industrial relations expert says Work Choices laws are more likely to confuse employees about their carer’s leave rights.

Compiled by the University of Sydney’s Workplace Research Centre, the report surveyed 240 work sites and found that skills shortages, particularly in the health, mining and manufacturing industries, had prompted employers to offer more innovative leave conditions.

Larissa Bamberry, an author of the study, said collective agreements gave employers flexibility without the need for Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs).

“Collective agreements have at least as much flexibility as AWAs,” she said.

“If you have staff of 20 people negotiating 20 agreements, it’s not as productive as negotiating for all 20.

“Enterprise agreements can provide administrative flexibility.”

Under new workplace laws though, Dr Bamberry said employees needed to be aware of their carer’s leave entitlements.

Work Choices legislated to give employees access to carer’s leave for family reasons, an entitlement which used to be covered by industry awards.

Dr Bamberry said while the laws had improved access to carer’s leave, they were less clear on how much of that leave could be taken at once in one year.

The Workplace Research Centre said Australian Workplace Agreements were not included in the study because the Workplace Authority had not released data.