News Flash

The Department for Families and Communities, Housing SA division, has two operating policies for flexitime provisions. One is only applicable to those commencing employment prior to 1996, and the other policy only has application to those starting work with the department after 1996.

According to the survey recently circulated by Housing SA, an option is being offered to those employees who commenced work prior to 1996. The option is for them to retain 1996 former SAHT provisions or to  accept governance by current DFC Flexitime Guidelines.

The old Housing Trust flexitime and TOIL provisions (Housing, Urban Development and Local Government Relations Portfolio Agreement 1996) are contained in the South Australian Government Wages Parity (Salaried) Enterprise Agreement 2010 (E.A), Appendix 2.3, Department for Families and Communities.

The view of the PSA is that giving employees the option to “move over to the current DFC flexitime guidelines”  means removing the flexitime provisions protected by Appendix 2.3 of the Enterprise Agreement. Therefore, should the department carry out this action, they will be in breach of the Enterprise Agreement. PSA members are not obliged to give up conditions of employment.