What do Levels under the SCHADS Award mean?

SCHADS Award Levels Explained

The SCHADS Award has 70 pay points and 22 individual pay levels that would apply to any one employee under the Award. It is no wonder employers are fighting an uphill battle with Fair Work, making genuine attempts to be compliant but not starting in the right places.

We provided a helpful breakdown of SCHADS award classifications across the four groups in the Award in our article here.

Differentiating between a Level 7 SCHADS Award employee and a Level 2 employee for example

The pay levels that apply will vary based on the employee’s experience, professional qualifications, duration of employment and core work responsibilities.

For example, Family day care employees is a group under the SCHADS Award that has five different levels which an employee may be assigned to.

A level one Family day care employee would be someone working under close supervision and direction of the employer. They would have been given significant on-the-job training and would be required to do routine activities in a support function.

By comparison a level 5 Family day care employee would be someone who exercises significant autonomy in a managerial or executive role. Their experience would be supported by tertiary and/or specialist qualifications and they would carry out more complex work.

So – to differentiate between any of the 22 classification levels under the SCHADS Award:

(i) Start with which of the four groups the employee belongs to

(ii) Then make an assessment based on the employment features, the requirements of the position and the employee’s work duties

(iii) To progress to another level, the employee would need to demonstrate taking on an increase in responsibilities or obtaining further expertise.

This is essential because as we discussed in our previous article, the minimum wage rate that applies will vary according to the levels. So, a Level 7 SCHADS Award employee would certainly be earning more than a Level 2 employee.

Why the SCHADS pay point is a pain point for many employers

As if there was not enough hard work to get to this point, employers are now faced with another difficult decision in assigning the correct pay point which sits under the different classification levels of the SCHADS Award.

These pay points are an important way for an employee to receive recognition for demonstrated progress without necessarily changing their classification, only their pay scale.

The Award mandates the precise pay point an employee must be assigned to based around length of service in the industry or precise occupational qualifications. This only makes it difficult for the employer, as they have less freedom to choose the pay point they prefer but also risk getting it wrong more often.

One-click pay rates that underpin compliance for the future

Whether it is automating a specific clause in the Award for pay point progression or relying on the general progression clause – we’ve got you covered.

The general progression clause sets out that after 12 months of continuous employment, where an employee has demonstrated competency and satisfactory performance, they shall be deemed eligible for pay point progression.

Through the use of smart software you would be able to review these on a 12-month, annual basis for hundreds of employees simultaneously with a few short clicks of a button.

It is important to note that there is no legal obligation to reclassify an employee to a higher pay point- they are eligible but ultimately the employer retains the discretion whether to or not.