PAY PROTECTOR HELPS YOUNG JOURNALIST

The national pay protector has helped secure $10,000 back-pay for a young radio journalist who performed the work of a graded journalist but was incorrectly classified and paid as a cadet.

The young female journalist worked part-time in Tweed Heads for Radio 97AM, 104.1FM and 103.5FM.
The Fair Work Ombudsman helped the journalist launch a small claims application in the Chief Industrial Magistrate’s Court of NSW against her former employer, Tweed Radio and Broadcasting Co Pty Ltd.A Fair Work inspector also made submissions on her behalf in court.

Chief Industrial Magistrate Gregory Hart ruled that the 25-year-old should have been paid as a graded journalist, rather than a cadet, because of the nature of the duties she performed.
He ordered the company to reimburse her $10,000.

Chief Industrial Magistrate Hart found that for most of the time the journalist was on duty, she was the only person in the newsroom and it was clear she “was not receiving training or any significant supervision.”
He found her “duties went well beyond that of simply reading the news bulletins and extended to the research, preparation and drafting of such bulletins”.

Further, the Court was “satisfied that she was given tasks to perform which were the tasks that would normally be performed by a Journalist Grade 1, Band 1” under the Commercial Radio – Journalists Award 1999.

“The Award itself provides that in the case of regular part-time work, the lowest rate of pay is that set for a Journalist Grade 2 under Band 1,” Chief Industrial Magistrate Hart found.
He ruled that the journalist’s pay should have been based on the minimum hourly rate for a Grade 2 journalist ($18.77), rather than the cadet rate ($13.35).

Fair Work Ombudsman NSW Director Mark Davidson says the case highlights the care employers need to ensure they classify employees correctly.

“We were happy to help this young woman secure this significant amount of back-pay, but ideally she should have been classified correctly in the first place,” he said.

Source:  http://j.mp/DYdud