Effective 1 January 2014, all modern awards include an
additional obligation to consult with employees (and their
representatives, if any) about any change to rosters or hours.
The new consultation clause is included in identical terms in
all modern awards. Its operation is, of course, limited to
employees covered by a modern award.
The obligation is similar to the obligation to consult employees
regarding major workplace change (which most commonly comes into
operation when redundancies are proposed).
In the context of changes to rosters or hours, the obligation
arises where an employer proposes to change an employee's
regular roster or ordinary hours of work. The obligation is to
provide the employee or employees affected and their
representatives (if any) with information about the proposed change
(e.g. the nature of the change to the roster or hours and when that
change is proposed to commence), to invite the employees affected
to give their views about the
