Understanding Sleepover Shifts: A sleepover shift involves an employee staying overnight at a client’s premises, being available to assist if needed. These shifts come with specific rules and provisions under the Award to protect employee rights and ensure fair compensation.
Key Rules for Sleepover Shifts:
- Maximum Span: Sleepover shifts can last up to 8 hours. Any hours worked beyond eight continuous hours are paid as overtime.
- Minimum Payments: Employees must receive a minimum overtime rate for any specific duties performed during the night. Additionally, they are entitled to a minimum payment if they work immediately before or after the sleepover, ensuring fair compensation for their time.
- Allowance Rate: Employers must pay a sleepover allowance to employees staying overnight at a client’s premises, regardless of whether work is performed during the night.
Key points :
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A sleepover shift is when a worker is required to sleep overnight at a participant’s home. The span for a sleepover is a continuous period of eight hours.
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NDIS pricing arrangements provide for up to two hours of active NDIS supports for a participant within the eight-hour sleepover shift. This is where a worker is woken up during the sleepover to provide support to the participant.
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The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award determines the amount a worker is paid for a sleepover shift, and the amount they are paid if they are required to perform work during the sleepover.
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A sleepover and the hours worked before or after the sleepover are counted as one continuous shift.
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Sleepover shifts are different to active overnight supports, which is where workers are awake during normal sleeping hours to provide supports to a participant due to their disability.
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NDIS providers and NDIS participants engaging their own workers have a duty to ensure a safe working environment for workers, as far as is reasonably practicable, during a sleepover shift.
Reference : https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/rules-and-standards/quality-practice/sleepover-shifts