Labour Court recommends 15-minute pay standard for retained firefighters

The Labour Court recommended standardising pay management for retained firefighters around payments to the nearest 15 minutes. Its recommendation was signed on 5 August 2011. The Local Government Management Services Board proposed payments to the nearest minute, arguing that one national system could cut IT support costs and link pay to hours worked. The Services Industrial Professional Technical Union opposed changing payment arrangements before stand-down procedures were standardised, saying the change could reduce firefighters’ earnings. The Court said the Public Service Agreement provided for standardising IT systems, but found there was no evidence that minute-based payments were the most cost-efficient option. It also said pay arrangements did not depend on how crews were stood down. Of 23 councils with information, 10 paid to the nearest 15 minutes, the most common arrangement. The Court recommended that individual firefighters be told how the change would affect them and their stations before it was implemented.