Industrial Relations & Enterprise Bargaining
The industrial side, handled properly. Enterprise bargaining, union engagement and right of entry, industrial action, and award and agreement interpretation.
Being confidently wrong about coverage is expensive
Most underpayment problems don't begin with anyone trying to underpay. They begin with a classification decision made years ago by someone reasonable, applied consistently ever since, and wrong.
By the time it surfaces (through a complaint, an audit, a bargaining round or a Fair Work inquiry) it has compounded across every affected employee for as long as it has been running, plus interest and penalties.
We help WA employers get coverage, classification and entitlements right, and work out what to do when they haven't been.
You might be dealing with
- Uncertainty about which award or agreement covers a group of workers
- Classification questions where the role doesn't map neatly to a level
- Direct employees, contractors and labour hire doing similar work under different arrangements
- Allowances, penalties and loadings you're not confident are being applied correctly
- Annualised salary arrangements you're unsure still satisfy the award
- A clause both parties read differently
- An underpayment you've discovered internally
- A new operation, site or role where coverage needs to be determined from scratch
- Payroll configuration that no longer matches the instrument
What's included
- Coverage assessment Which instrument applies, to whom, and why: including where a workforce spans multiple instruments or systems.
- Classification review Roles mapped against the applicable structure, with reasoning documented so the decision is defensible later.
- Entitlement checking Rates, allowances, penalties, loadings, overtime and leave, checked against the instrument and against what payroll is actually doing.
- Clause interpretation A clear, reasoned view on contested clauses: and a straight answer about where the wording genuinely is ambiguous.
- Remediation Where something is wrong: scope, quantum, the correction, and how to handle disclosure. Doing this proactively is very different from being caught.
- Payroll alignment Making sure the system reflects the instrument, because most recurring errors are configuration errors.
Our experience
Award and agreement interpretation across mining, manufacturing, construction, energy and aviation, including workforces spanning direct employment, contractors and labour hire on the same site under different arrangements.
Twenty-plus bargaining rounds means reading these instruments as documents that were negotiated. Knowing what a clause was intended to do, and where the ambiguity was left deliberately.
Common questions
We think we've underpaid people. What should we do?
Establish the scope and quantum before deciding anything else, and get advice early. Self-identified and voluntarily corrected sits very differently from discovered by someone else. Don't communicate to employees before you understand the full picture.
Are we in the state or federal system?
Most incorporated employers are in the federal system, but WA maintains a state system covering certain employers, including some unincorporated entities. The distinction matters because it changes the instruments and the tribunal, and it isn't always obvious.
Our people are on salaries well above the award. Does the award still apply?
Usually yes. A salary above the award doesn't remove coverage, and award obligations around overtime, allowances and record-keeping can still apply. Annualised arrangements have their own requirements.
Can you check our payroll?
Yes. A review across a sample of roles and pay periods usually surfaces any systemic issue quickly, and it's a common first engagement.
Ready to talk?
Tell us what you need and we'll take it from there.
Related services
All services →Enterprise Bargaining
Full bargaining lifecycle. Pre-bargaining review and costing, strategy, employee communication, negotiation, ballot and Fair Work Commission approval, and implementation. We sit at the table with you or lead it on your behalf.