Apprentices & Trainees
If a club is considering hiring an apprentice or trainee this may be a process that they are unfamiliar with. Hiring an apprentice or trainee can be a rewarding and useful way to look to get staff into the industry and allow a club to train someone up in the manner they wish. When considering this though a club needs to ensure they are aware of all the steps to follow to validly hire an apprentice or trainee and what their entitlements will be.
Key Points in Hiring an Apprentice or Trainee
Firstly a club has to be registered to employ apprentices and trainees and this is done through Skills SA with further information on this available here.
If registered a club will have to consider whether they wish to employ the apprentice or trainee directly themselves and have training done through a Registered Training Organisation (RTO) or go through a Group Training Organisation (GTO) instead.
An RTO is somewhere that delivers qualifications and can assess competencies against the relevant qualifications training e.g. Complete Hospitality Training Services (CHTS) & TAFE. A GTO in contrast employs an apprentice or trainee directly and then places them with a “host” to undertake their required training. The GTO as the employer will manage their pay, super, insurance etc. They should also have a lot of input on where and how they will do their training.
Which is better depends on the circumstance and clubs should do their research before deciding. If a club would prefer to handle recruitment themselves and where the apprentice or trainee is undertaking a less common qualification, then engaging directly and putting them through an RTO may be better. If a club is after more support and help navigating the process, then a GTO may be worth exploring instead.
Clubs SA also has a partnership with A Plus Recruitment Agency who can assist clubs in finding either qualified chefs or those who still need to undergo some level of training.
If a club does not contact and go through a GTO then before deciding on where training is to be done, they need to find someone and select an Apprenticeship Network Provider (ANP). An ANP helps an employer sign someone up for a training contract, look at incentives etc. They can also assist with finding an apprentice or trainee if a club did not already have one in mind.
Once the GTO or ANP & RTO are selected then it will be time to prepare a training plan and get a valid training contract in place to be approved by the SA Skills Commission. For anyone to be deemed an apprentice or trainee and paid as such they must have an approved and valid training contract in place.
Lastly clubs also need to be aware that apprentices need to be properly supervised. Any supervisor must be suitably qualified or understand the necessary requirements and the supervision ratio required depends on the risk rating of the qualification. More information on this is available here.
Apprentice and Trainee Entitlements
For the most part, an apprentice or trainee will have the same entitlements and protections as other employees e.g. meal breaks, penalty rates, allowances, discrimination protections etc.
Modern Awards and EBA’s will typically also have specific provisions and entitlements for apprentices or trainees. In the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award 2020 (Clubs Award) for example clause 12 details specific entitlements for apprentices such as needing those under 18 to consent to do overtime, an entitlement to be repaid for course and textbook costs etc.
Apprentices will have their pay rates come from a Modern Award or EBA that contains their relevant qualification and covers their industry. For example, the Clubs Award has apprentice rates for cooking and maintenance and horticultural apprentices.
Most trainees pay rates and training conditions comes from the Miscellaneous Award 2020 in Schedule E. Their other entitlements however such as penalty rates, overtime and allowances will instead come from the industry or occupation award that best covers them (e.g. the Clubs Award).
Also generally speaking, time spent offsite attending formal training is included in their ordinary hours of work and they therefore need to be paid for this.
Issues with Apprentices and Trainees
Apprentices and trainees will have a probationary period included in their training agreement where either side can terminate for any reason provided it is not for a prohibited reason.
If a probationary period has passed however then any contract can only be terminated with approval of the SA Skills Commission e.g. both parties can show them they mutually agree to terminate or where an order has been made by the SA Employment Tribunal (SAET). Seeking an order from SAET should only be a last resort though and where a club can show that other attempts to rectify issues such as warnings, discussions etc have been exhausted.
Where issues exist however this is where a GTO or agency can be a benefit as they may be able to look to move the apprentice or trainee to another host. If a club is going through an RTO however then they could look to contact their ANP for advice. The SA Skills Commission also offers assistance and dispute resolution for apprentices, trainees and their employers with further information available here.
When a training contract ends then provided there is not another employment contract or agreement in place alongside it that is still operational then it is up to the employer whether they wish to offer further employment to the now qualified person or not.
