SCHADS Award Sleepover Allowance - How It Works and What Providers Must Pay

The short answer

The sleepover rules in the SCHADS Award (MA000100) are in clause 25.7. The two that providers most often get wrong are what is paid when a worker is woken to work, and the four-hour rule for work immediately before or after the sleepover. Every rule below is quoted from the Award with its clause number.

What counts as a sleepover (clause 25.7(a) and (c))

"(a) A sleepover means when an employer requires an employee to sleep overnight at premises where the client for whom the employee is responsible is located (including respite care) and is not a 24 hour care shift pursuant to clause 25.8 or an excursion pursuant to clause 25.9.

(c) The span for a sleepover will be a continuous period of 8 hours. Employees will be provided with a separate room with a bed and clean linen, the use of appropriate facilities (including access to food preparation facilities and staff facilities where these exist) and free board and lodging for each night when the employee sleeps over."

This is the test for whether a shift is a sleepover at all. If the worker is expected to be awake and working through the night it is not a sleepover, and the ordinary shift rules apply to those hours, including the night shift loading in clause 29.3(b) where the shift qualifies. See SCHADS penalty rates explained.

The sleepover allowance (clause 25.7(d))

"(d) The employee will be entitled to a sleepover allowance of 4.9% of the standard rate for each night on which they sleep over."

The allowance is paid for each night the employee sleeps over. It is not a payment for being woken: that is a separate entitlement.

When the worker is woken to work (clause 25.7(e))

"(e) In the event of the employee on sleepover being required to perform work during the sleepover period, the employee will be paid for the time worked at the prescribed overtime rate with a minimum payment as for one hour worked. Where such work exceeds one hour, payment will be made at the prescribed overtime rate for the duration of the work."

So the time worked is not paid at the ordinary rate, and it is not paid at a penalty rate. It is paid at the overtime rate, and a short call-out still pays one hour's worth. The overtime rate that applies is the one in clause 28.1 for that employee and that day: see SCHADS overtime rules.

Worked example (illustrative, ordinary rate $30.00 an hour, full-time disability services employee, a weeknight): the worker is woken at 2.00 am and works for 20 minutes. The minimum payment is as for one hour worked at the overtime rate. At time and a half, that is 1 × $30.00 × 1.5 = $45.00, plus the sleepover allowance for the night. If the call-out lasts 90 minutes, the payment is for the duration: 1.5 × $30.00 × 1.5 = $67.50. Confirm with your payroll adviser how the overtime tiers in clause 28.1 apply to the hours worked during a sleepover on your roster.

Work before and after the sleepover (clause 25.7(f) and 29.3(d))

"(f) An employer may roster an employee to perform work immediately before and/or immediately after the sleepover period, but must roster the employee or pay the employee for at least four hours' work for at least one of these periods of work. The payment prescribed by 25.7(d) will be in addition to the minimum payment prescribed by this subclause."

This is the rule behind the common SIL pattern of a short evening shift, a sleepover and a short morning shift. At least one of the two work periods must be rostered or paid at four hours or more. Clause 29.3(d) then says how shift loadings are worked out around the sleepover:

"Where an employee is rostered to perform work immediately before and immediately after a sleepover period in accordance with clause 25.7, the portion of work prior to and following the sleepover will be treated separately for the purposes of determining the loading to be paid under clauses 29.3(a), 29.3(b) or 29.3(c)."

The Award's own example is a worker who performs work from 9.00 pm to 11.00 pm, then after the sleepover from 7.00 am to 11.00 am. The afternoon shift allowance is payable on the first period of work only.

The daily overtime threshold also changes around a sleepover. For part-time and casual employees on an agreed 12-hour shift split around a sleepover it is 12 hours, not 10 (clause 28.1(b)(iii) and (iv)). See SCHADS overtime rules.

24-hour care shifts are different (clause 25.8)

Clause 25.8 applies only to home care employees and covers a 24-hour period where the employee is available in the client's home. It is paid differently from a sleepover:

"(d) The employee will be paid 8 hours' work at 155% of their appropriate rate for each 24-hour period.

(e) If the employee is required to perform more than 8 hours' work during a 24-hour care shift, that work shall be treated as overtime and paid at the rate of time and a half for the first 2 hours and double time thereafter, except on Sundays when overtime will be paid for at the rate of double time, and on public holidays at the rate of double time and a half."

Recording sleepover shifts correctly

The pay rules depend on facts a roster does not capture by itself: whether the worker was woken, when, and for how long. For each sleepover, record:

• The sleepover start and end, and the work periods immediately before and after it
• Each call-out: time started, time finished, and what was done
• That the worker had a separate room, a bed and clean linen (clause 25.7(c))
• Which employee type and stream applies, for the overtime rate

Handover notes and incident records are good evidence of call-outs, but the pay record needs the times.

Related guides: SCHADS allowances, penalty rates, overtime rules and broken shift allowance.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the SCHADS sleepover allowance?

4.9% of the standard rate for each night on which the employee sleeps over (clause 25.7(d)). The standard rate is the minimum wage for a Social and community services employee level 3 at pay point 3 in clause 15.3, so the dollar amount changes when the Award rates change.

How is a worker paid when woken during a sleepover?

At the prescribed overtime rate for the time worked, with a minimum payment as for one hour worked (clause 25.7(e)).

How long is a sleepover under the Award?

The span is a continuous period of 8 hours, and the employee must be provided with a separate room with a bed and clean linen (clause 25.7(c)).

Is there a minimum amount of work before or after a sleepover?

If you roster work immediately before or after the sleepover, you must roster or pay at least four hours' work for at least one of those periods (clause 25.7(f)).

Is a 24-hour care shift the same as a sleepover?

No. A 24-hour care shift is covered by clause 25.8, applies only to home care employees, and is paid 8 hours' work at 155% for each 24-hour period (clause 25.8(d)).

Can a sleepover be refused?

Clause 25.7(b) applies the roster provisions of clause 25.5 to sleepovers and says an employee may refuse a sleepover in the circumstances in clause 25.5(d)(i), but only with reasonable cause. Read both clauses before relying on this.