The Commission's ruling, which centred on a pay deal for employees at pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, found a worker's typical shift should be used to calculate the total number of hours meaning a shift-worker who does usually a 12-hour shift should receive 120 hours of paid leave per year.
Given that QF domestic pilots regularly work 10,11 or 11.5 hour duty days, the practice of deducting duty hours from the 76 hours is erroneous. Practically, instead of 10 days sick/personal leave (76/7.6=10), the company is deducting duty hours, which ordinarily are far greater than the 7.6 imagined. As conceived by FWA the formula assumed workers worked an average standard 7.6 hour day. The adopted method leaves pilots without a number of personal days.
Whatever the formula and spirited defence of management, there ought be a little more at stake for QF if this case if not overturned than a small pharmaceutical company.
(and thank-you to the QF domestic pilots providing this information)
Assumption:
- Captain hourly rate and FO (65% of Captain rate)
- 700 hours per year.
- Even split between ranks
- Agreement dated 2014 (5years)
Thus,If in a given year the pilot was credited
76 duty hours, not
120 duty hours then they have been short-changed 44 hours per year, for at least five years.
Each Captain is owed conservatively $60,000 of un-credited personal leave.
Each FO is owed conservatively $40,000 of uncredited personal leave
Both amounts ignore compounding.
Assuming around 1,000 pilots are affected, (very conservative given the rumoured training and retirement rates) with an even split between ranks,
conservatively the company ought be paying out AUD$50,000,000 to affect pilots.
Nice leverage for a pilot association.