Public Sector Employment

In reply to the Hon. R.I. LUCAS (19 March 2015).

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Sustainability, Environment and Conservation, Minister for Water and the River Murray, Minister for Climate Change): The Minister for the Public Sector has received this advice:

New redeployment, retraining and redundancy arrangements were included in the South Australian Public Sector Wages Parity Enterprise Agreement: Salaried 2014 (the enterprise agreement).

Employees covered by the enterprise agreement are employed in administrative units (Public Sector Act 2009); SA Health (Health Care Act 2008) and a number of smaller public sector agencies.

The enterprise agreement required the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment to publish a Determination on the operational requirements of these new arrangements.

Following significant consultation with stakeholders, including information sessions with employees at various locations in the State and public sector agency representatives, the finalised Determination 7: Management of Excess Employees – Redeployment, Retraining and Redundancy (Determination No. 7) was issued on 19 March 2015.

Determination No. 7 provides that:

'If, after 12 months from the date of receipt of written advice that an employee is excess to requirements, and that employee has been unsuccessful in gaining substantive employment (either employment on a funded/substantive ongoing or term/temporary basis with a term of no less than 12 months) in the South Australian public sector, then the employment of that employee may be terminated on the grounds they are excess to requirements.'

If an employee had been declared excess prior to 19 March 2015 and that employee became excess as a consequence of organisational change, Determination No. 7 provides that the redeployment period (that is the 12 month period), will commence no earlier than 19 March 2015. The chief executive, agency head or delegate must formally advise an employee as to the commencement of the redeployment period and provide information to them about the employment and training arrangements potentially available to them.