Fair Work Commission

ABS

Abbreviation for Australian Bureau of Statistics.

adjustment factor

In relation to weighting, an adjustment factor is a mechanism used to adjust estimates so that the estimates better align with the population.

AHOTCE

Abbreviation for Average Hourly Ordinary Time Cash Earnings.

annual wage review

Each financial year the Fair Work Commission's Expert Panel for annual wage reviews conducts an annual wage review of minimum wages, after which it issues a decision and national minimum wage order (for employees not covered by an award or agreement). The decision and order generally come into operation on 1 July of the following financial year.

ANZSCO

Abbreviation for Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations 2006.

ANZSIC

Abbreviation for Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification 2006.

apprentice

A person undertaking an Australian Apprenticeship that combines training and employment and which can lead to a nationally recognised trade qualification. Apprentices usually get paid a percentage of what a qualified tradesperson would get paid.

award

An award is an enforceable document containing minimum terms and conditions of employment in addition to any legislated minimum terms. In general, an award applies to employees in a particular industry or occupation and is used as the benchmark for assessing enterprise agreements before approval. The Fair Work Commission has responsibility for making and varying awards in the national workplace relations system.

award rate of pay

The applicable rate of pay specified in the classification structure of an award.

Award Reliance Survey

The Award Reliance Survey is quantitative survey research with national system employers undertaken on behalf of the Fair Work Commission to examine wage-setting arrangements.

award-based method of setting pay

An award-based pay setting arrangement is where the rate of pay an employee receives is set, influenced or guided in some way by the applicable rate of pay in an award for the work the employee performs. Award-based pay setting arrangements can include arrangements with individual employees to pay more than the applicable award rate of pay and arrangements that apply to more than one employee to pay more than the applicable award rate of pay.

award-reliant employee

An employee who has their pay set exactly at the applicable rate specified by an award, including employees who have the wage annualised as a salary under the provisions of an award and those who receive allowances and loadings on top of their base pay rate according to the award provisions.

business difficulties

Unique events or factors, such as weather events, loss of a major income source, or new regulations that significantly hampered the performance of the enterprise in the last financial year. 

casual loading

A casual loading is an amount paid on top of the base rate of pay to casual employees. The purpose of a casual loading is to compensate casual employees for not getting certain entitlements that permanent employees receive, such as paid annual leave and personal (e.g. sick) leave. Most modern awards have a casual loading of 25 per cent.

CATI

Abbreviation for Computer-assisted telephone interview(ing).

Commission

Abbreviation for Fair Work Commission.

commissions/bonuses

Payments in addition to base wage/salary.

consultative committee

Committees that are primarily concerned with consultation with employee representatives over matters that affect employees and the performance of the business/ organisation. These committees comprise senior managers and a collection of employee representatives. Some or all of the employee representatives would not be union delegates. These committees may be called joint consultative committees, work councils, representative forums or similar.

Counts of Australian Business Entries and Exits June 2013

ABS Counts of Australian Businesses. 

derived variable

A variable that is present in the data file, but was not explicitly asked of survey respondents. These variables may be a sum of previous variables or dependent on a series of responses collected earlier.

domestic market

A domestic market refers to the sale of goods or provision of services to customers within Australia.

EEH survey

Abbreviation for Employee Earnings and Hours survey undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics biennially.

employee

Workers employed directly by an enterprise on a permanent, casual or fixed term contract basis who are paid a wage/salary. This definition excludes workers who are paid a fee for service on a consultancy or individual contractor basis, unpaid workers who are not paid for the services they provide and business partners/working proprietors.

employee engagement practices

Methods used by senior management/owner(s) to hear from employees. employee of an enterprise A person employed directly by an enterprise on a permanent, casual or fixed term contract basis who is paid a wage/salary. This definition excludes:

• temporary labor hire workers
• consultants and contractors who are paid a fee for service
• apprentices or trainees whose wages are paid by a Group Training Organisation (GTO)
• unpaid workers such as unpaid family members or volunteers
• working proprietors or business partners that contributed to the production of, or sales of, goods and/or services, and may or may not draw a wage or a percentage of the profits.

employee questionnaire

The AWRS questionnaire which collected data from employees about their current role, employment history, aspects of job satisfaction and a detailed breakdown of their wages income. It also touched on requests made under the National Employment Standards and whether they had an Individual Flexibility Arrangement. Employees were randomly selected to participate in the study by their employer.

employee relations questionnaire

The AWRS questionnaire which collected data from employers about workforce management, wage-setting and employee engagement practices. If applicable, it also collected information about the use of individual flexibility arrangements and aspects of the National Employment Standards.

employer characteristics questionnaire

See recruitment questionnaire.

employment size

Enterprises were directly asked to report the number of employees in two of the AWRS surveys. The Recruitment survey recorded the approximate number of workers who were employed directly by the enterprise at the time this survey was completed (i.e. between 24 February 2014 and 26 June 2014). The Workforce Profile survey recorded how many workers were employed directly by the enterprise in the last pay period(s) that ended on or before 28 February 2014. Reported data for employment size has been categorised into three ranges: 5–19, 20–199 and 200+ employees.

employment status

The status of employment is defined by an employee’s entitlement to paid personal leave (e.g. sick leave) and annual leave. Employees who have an entitlement to paid annual leave and paid personal leave are defined as permanent employees, whether they are employed on an ongoing basis or for a fixed term. Employees who do not have an entitlement to paid annual leave and paid personal leave are defined as casual.

enterprise

The head office and all worksites of the ‘enterprise’ within Australia. Further information about the enterprise as the unit of analysis can be found in the Technical notes.

enterprise agreement (EA)

An enterprise agreement is an agreement negotiated at the workplace or business level by an employer with a group of their employees, with or without union involvement.

Enterprise agreements include:

• A registered enterprise agreement lodged with the Fair Work Commission (formerly Fair Work Australia) and approved.
• An unregistered enterprise agreement not lodged and approved (e.g. an informal pay-setting arrangement that applies to a group of employees at an enterprise/workplace).

expense items

Expense items included, and were broken down by, wages and salaries; other labour costs; purchases; and all other operating expenses.

expense items all other operating expenses

All other operating expenses included:

• all other operating expenses not included as a separate expense items on this form, other than the accompanying exclusions to this question
• all other labour costs not reported previously.

The following were excluded:

• payments made under the Australian Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme
• excise and duties payable to the government
• income tax and other direct taxes
• costs associated with the transfer of real estate
• export freight charges
• change in inventories
• donations made to related and unrelated organisations/individuals
• dividend payments
• capital repayments including those associated with finance leases.

expense items other labour costs

Other labour costs included:

• employer contributions into superannuation
• salary sacrificed earnings paid on behalf of employees
• expenses relating to employer funded defined benefit schemes
• workers compensation
• fringe benefits tax
• payroll tax
• share based payments
• payments to other businesses/organisations (e.g. employment agencies for staff/labour hire).

The following was excluded:

• payments made under the Commonwealth Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme.

expense items purchases

Purchases included:

• purchases of materials, components, containers and packaging materials, electricity, fuels and water associated with the production and/or sale of goods and services
• purchases of finished goods for resale
• purchases of parts and fuels for motor vehicles.

​The following were excluded:

• contract, sub-contract and commission payments or expenses (to be included in all other operating expenses)
• capitalised purchases of materials
• change in inventories.

expense items wages and salaries

Wages and salaries included:

• provisions for employee entitlements
• severances, terminations and redundancies
• salaries and fees of directors
• retainers and commissions
• bonuses
• annual and other types of leave.

The following were excluded:

• employer contributions into superannuation (included in Other labour costs)
• workers compensation (included in Other labour costs)
• fringe benefits tax (included in Other labour costs)
• payroll tax (included in Other labour costs)
• payments to other businesses/organisations e.g. employment agencies and labour hire firms for staff/labour hire (included in Other labour costs)
• salary sacrificed earnings paid on behalf of employees (included in Other labour costs)
• payments made under the Commonwealth Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme.

export market

An export market refers to the sale of goods or provision of services to customers outside of Australia. Supplying goods and services in Australia to non-residents such as foreign tourists and international students was not considered as exported goods and services.

financial information questionnaire

The AWRS questionnaire which collected data from employers about income sources and amounts, total expenses and certain expense items such as labour costs. The questionnaire was completed online. The survey reference period was the most recently ended financial year for the enterprise. CATI versions were administered to survey respondents who indicated that they were unable to complete the questionnaires online. The CATI questionnaires collected most key measures of the online questionnaires but omitted items that were not feasible to collect over the telephone.

formal training costs for businesses

Formal training costs included were:

• training costs relating to all workers (e.g. employees, working proprietors and working partners, contractors and labour hire staff)
• wages and salaries of in-house trainers for the provision of training and development of courses and materials for the workforce
• all fees paid to consultants and institutions for designing, conducting, evaluating or providing facilities for training courses.

Excluded were:

• employee costs related to the time (hours) involved for those being trained
• expenses incurred for workers to attend training (e.g. equipment, travel, accommodation)
• payments relating to non-training activities (e.g. non-training conferences and seminars)
• informal on-the-job training; payments for apprentices and trainees made to Group Training Organisations.

hours worked employee reported

The usual hours worked estimates include both paid and unpaid hours worked. Two definitions of usual hours worked have been derived from the usual number of hours reported by employees. The standard ABS definition of full-time (35 or more hours per week) and part-time (less than 35 hours) has been used to report AWRS data. The modern award definition of full-time (38 or more hours) and part-time (less than 38 hours) has also been used to report usual hours worked.

hours worked employer reported

The standard ABS definition of full-time (35 or more hours per week) and part-time (less than 35 hours) has been used to collect hours worked information. Employer-reported data represent paid hours only (i.e. does not include any unpaid hours worked by employees). 

HRM

Abbreviation for human resource management. 

IFA

Abbreviation for Individual Flexibility Arrangement. An IFA is a documented record of an arrangement that can vary a range of terms of a modern award or enterprise agreement, including when work is performed, and is signed by both the employer and employee.

imputed data

Missing values that were not collected in the Financial Information online and CATI surveys were imputed using available data ratios derived from ABS stratum level industry estimates. See also supplemented data

income Government funding

Government funding included:

• income received from the provision of contracted government-funded services (e.g. Health Care, Aged Care, Child Care, Employment services)
• apprenticeship and trainee schemes
• bounties, subsidies and export grants.

The following was excluded:

• funding for capital items.

income other operating income

Other operating income included:

• net profit (loss) resulting from the revaluation of assets
• net profit (loss) on share trading
• net profit (loss) on sales of other assets
• net profit (loss) on foreign loans resulting from variations in foreign exchange rates/transactions
• interest income
• royalties income
• donations/fundraising
• dividend income.

The following were excluded:

• income from sales of goods and services
• income from government funding
• extraordinary profit (loss) i.e. not associated with the normal operations of this business/organisation and of a non-recurring nature
• capital payments received
• payments received under the Commonwealth Government’s Paid Parental Leave Scheme.

income sales of goods and services

Sales of goods and services included:

• income from rent and hiring
• income from operating leases
• progress payments billed (for long-term contracts)
• repair and service income and fees
• sales of goods
• sales or transfers to related businesses, including overseas branches
• delivery charges not separately invoiced to customers
• contract, sub-contract and commission income
• management fees/charges from related and unrelated businesses/organisations
• export sales
• subscription and membership fees.

The following were excluded:

• excise and duties received (on behalf of the government)
• income received from the provision of contracted government-funded services (e.g. Health Care, Aged Care, Child Care, Employment services)
• sales of fixed tangible assets
• export freight charges
• interest income
• income from finance leases
• payments received under hire purchase agreements
• royalties income.

incorporated business/organisation

An incorporated business or organisation was defined as a legal entity separate from its individual members and can hold property, sue and be sued.

individual arrangement

A wage-setting practice where an award or enterprise agreement does not play a role in determining the amount an employee is paid.

industry

Data on the main activity of enterprises has been collected and coded based on the ANZSIC system and reported accordingly.

inventories

Inventories in accordance with the Balance Sheet of the enterprise included:

• raw materials, fuels and containers, etc. associated with the production of goods
• work-in-progress less progress payments billed
• finished goods for resale.

junior

A junior employee under the Fair Work Act 2009 is a national system employee who is under 21 years of age. This term is defined in section 12 of the Fair Work Act 2009. 

Labour Force survey

The Labour Force survey undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on a monthly basis.

large-sized enterprise

Enterprises have been defined as large if they had 200 or more employees.

last financial year

Refers to the most recently ended financial reference period for the enterprise. 

medium-sized enterprise

Enterprises have been defined as medium if they had between 20 and 199 employees.

metropolitan

A densely populated city or town and its surrounding suburbs.

missing by design

Data that is missing from the data file as a result of the item not being asked of respondents. This is seen in the shorter CATI versions of the Financial Information and Workforce Profile questionnaires, whereby some items were removed to reduce the length and burden on potential CATI respondents to these questionnaires. In some cases, data has been imputed or supplemented into these missing items, but if not, then missing by design is denoted by 996 in the relevant cell.

missing in error

Responses that have not been provided by a respondent but should have been. This is most commonly seen in the pen and paper version of the Employee questionnaire, whereby respondents have not followed the relevant skip instructions. If a response was provide in a variable that was not supposed to be answered, these responses were removed. Missing in error is denoted by a 995 value in the relevant cell.

modern award

Modern awards operate together with the National Employment Standards (NES) to provide minimum conditions of employment for employers and employees in the ‘national system’. Modern awards supplement the NES by setting out additional minimum terms and conditions that apply in a particular industry or occupation including monetary entitlements such as wages, penalty rates and allowances. 

national system

Information about the national system can be found in the Technical notes.

NES

Abbreviation for National Employment Standards. The NES are 10 legislated minimum standards of employment in the Fair Work Act 2009.

NES right to request additional unpaid parental leave

Eligibility for this right to request is for employees who take unpaid parental leave and may request an extension for a further 12 months following the end of the available parental leave period. The request must be made in writing at least four weeks before the end of the available parental leave period and a written response must be provided by the employer within 21 days.

NES right to request flexible working arrangements

Eligibility for this right to request is for employees: who need to care for a child or family member; due to an employee’s disability; because the employee is 55 years or older; because the employee, or a family member of the employee, was experiencing family violence. The request must be made in writing and a written response must be provided by the employer within 21 days.

NMW

Abbreviation for National Minimum Wage. The NMW was defined in the AWRS as paying the amount of $16.37 per hour to an employee who was not covered by an award or an agreement. To be asked about the NMW, survey respondents needed to have reported using the individual arrangements method of setting pay.

non-employee workers

These workers included:

• workers who were not directly employed by the business/ organisation who were engaged to perform work that would otherwise have been performed by an employee i.e. temporary labour hire workers, contractors/ sub-contractors, consultants and freelance workers, apprentices and trainees/ cadets whose wages are paid for by a Group Training Organisation and other non-employee workers.

The following were excluded:

• contractors and companies who were engaged to perform work that could or would not be performed by an employee.

non-response bias

Non-response bias is the difference between the estimate based on the responding sample and the estimate if there were no non-respondents.

number of competitors

This refers to how many competitors the survey respondent perceived the enterprise had targeting the same field of clients or customers for its major products and/or services. 

occupation

Occupation data was collected and coded based on the ANZSCO system and has been reported accordingly.

operating days

Days when employees are paid to undertake work relating to the major products and/or services of the enterprise.

ORC

Abbreviation for ORC International, the data collection and related services provider for the AWRS.

organisation

Non-public sector businesses and organisations in the national system.

origin

The classification of the origin of the data. Data can originate from the one of the following; primary, derived, supplemented, imputed.

overtime rates/payments

A pay rate or payment for work performed in excess of standard hours earnings. 

pay-setting arrangement

Method of setting pay for employees.

penalty rates/payments

A pay rate or payment for work performed outside of standard hours earnings.

performance based payments

Performance based payments included commissions, bonuses, profit sharing schemes and piece work pay.

population estimates

Population estimates for each of the industries and employee size groupings were sourced from ABS catalogues to calculate weights for employee and employer units of analysis.

primary variable

A variable that was asked of a survey respondent.

recruitment questionnaire

This questionnaire collected enterprise characteristics information and was implemented to determine whether an enterprise was within scope for the Study.

regional or rural

See Metropolitan definition. Regional or rural refers to all non-metropolitan areas.

registered enterprise agreement

A registered enterprise agreement is an agreement made between one or more employers and a group of employees or a union representing a group of employees. It sets out the terms and conditions of employment. This type of collective agreement is lodged with and approved by the Fair Work Commission.

shift arrangements

Shift arrangements refers to working arrangements that involve fixed hours of work (in shifts or rosters) that are outside or partially outside of normal working hours.

small-sized enterprise

Enterprises have been defined as small if they had between five and 19 employees.

standard hours earnings

The base salary/retainer or earnings for work performed during standard hours. Includes any payment for hours spent on paid leave.

steering committee

A committee made up of employee and employer representative bodies and other stakeholders, including Commonwealth agencies that oversaw the design and development of the AWRS. A list of the membership is available on the AWRS homepage of the Commission’s website

structure and operations questionnaire

The AWRS questionnaire which collected data from employers about the ownership structure, market competitiveness, labour productivity measurement and how the enterprise responds to changes to the marketplace.

supplemented data

Inserted data into missing cells for the Financial Information data file. Data ratios derived from ABS stratum level industry estimates were used to supplement data not collected in the CATI version of the Financial Questionnaire.

survey weights

Reported AWRS data has been weighted up in line with applicable population estimates for each industry division by employment size (5–19, 20–199 and 200+ employees). Population estimates have been sourced from ABS catalogues.

total income

Total income includes and is broken down by:

• income from sales of goods and services
• income from government funding
• all other operating income.

trainee

A person who is employed under a training arrangement. A trainee must be registered to be paid trainee wages. Trainee wages are usually based on the training course the person is doing, when the person finished secondary school and the highest year of school they completed. 

unpaid workers

These workers include volunteers, unpaid family members, interns and students on a vocational placement as part of their study.

unregistered enterprise agreement

An unregistered enterprise agreement is an agreement made between one or more employers and a group of employees or a union representing a group of employees. It sets out the terms and conditions of employment. This type of collective agreement has not been lodged with or approved by the Fair Work Commission. 

value

Refers to each response or response category, where each response has a number (or value) associated with it known as a code. The response frame in the question was used to code the responses. For open-ended questions, a combination of pre-coded and post-coded values was used. For some questions, respondents were allowed to provide multiple responses to the same question. Separate variables were created for each of the categories of the questions where multiple responses were allowed (0=no, 1=yes).

variable

Refers to each set of values (response categories) and associated codes in the datasets.

variable label

A longer description of the variables. This will be used in the output generated from any analysis.

variable name

The abbreviated variable name used to identify the variable in the dataset.

WGEA

Abbreviation for Workplace Gender Equality Agency.

workforce profile questionnaire

The AWRS questionnaire which collected data from employers to profile the workforce in terms of the number of employees, unpaid workers and non-employee workers such as contractors and labour hire staff. It also covered wage-setting practices. CATI versions were administered to survey respondents who indicated that they were unable to complete the questionnaires online. The CATI questionnaires collected most key measures of the online questionnaires but omitted items that were not feasible to collect over the telephone.

working proprietors or business partners

This group includes working proprietors or business partners that contribute to the production of, or sales of, goods and/or services. They may or may not draw a wage or a percentage of the profits. Excluded from the definition is working proprietors or business partners that do not contribute to the production of, or sales of, goods and/or services.

workplace

Defined as a single worksite of an enterprise.