Queensland Consolidated Acts

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS ACT 2016 - SECT 212

212 Special case—employee undertaking approved apprenticeship or traineeship

(1) This section applies if—

(a) a proposed bargaining instrument provides for the payment of wages to an employee undertaking approved training (a
"training employee" ) in a particular trade, occupation or work (the
"particular work" ); and

(b) there is a relevant award, designated award or order providing for the payment of wages to employees undertaking benchmark training for—

(i) the particular work; or

(ii) a trade, occupation or work that is similar to the particular work.

(2) The proposed bargaining instrument is taken to disadvantage the training employee in the employee’s employment conditions if the proposed bargaining instrument provides for the payment of wages to the employee at a rate less than the rate payable to an employee (a
"benchmark employee" ) undertaking benchmark training under the relevant award, designated award or order, as adjusted under subsection (3) .

(3) For subsection (2) , the rate payable to a benchmark employee is to be adjusted to take into account the proportionate difference, as decided by the approving authority, between the productive time of—

(a) a training employee; and

(b) a benchmark employee.

(4) Subsection (5) applies if the proposed bargaining instrument adopts, as the qualification for a wage level, a criterion decided by the approving authority (the
"decided criterion" ) instead of a specified criterion applying under the relevant award, designated award or order (the
"award criterion" ).

(5) For this section, the relevant award, designated award or order is taken to have effect as if the decided criterion were substituted for the award criterion.

(6) This section does not apply to a trainee covered by—

(a) the Training Wage Award—State 2012; or

(b) the National Training Wage Schedule of a modern award under the Commonwealth Fair Work Act .

(7) In this section—

"approved training" means training for an apprentice or trainee approved by the approving authority.

"benchmark training" means training for an apprentice or trainee in a particular trade, occupation or work if that is recognised under an award or under an order made under section 136 .