In Australian workplace law, awards and enterprise agreements are both legal instruments that set out minimum employment conditions – but they differ in scope, negotiation, and flexibility:

Screenshot from FairWork defining a Modern Award

Modern Awards

1. Industry or occupation-based: Apply to employees in a specific industry or job classification (e.g. Hospitality Award, Clerks Award)

2. Set by the Fair Work Commission: They are standardised and not negotiated at the individual business level

3. Cover minimum conditions such as:

   1. Pay rates

   2. Penalty rates

   3. Overtime

   4. Allowances

   5. Leave entitlements

4. Apply automatically if no enterprise agreement is in place

Enterprise Agreements (EBAs)

1. Business-specific: Negotiated between an employer and a group of employees (or their union) to suit that specific workplace

2. Must be approved by the Fair Work Commission to ensure employees are better off overall than under the relevant award

3. Can override awards, but only if they provide equal or better conditions overall

4. Commonly used to:

   1. Tailor rosters, hours, and pay structures

   2. Introduce workplace-specific incentives

   3. Streamline operations

In Practice

If you run a business:

• You must comply with the relevant award unless you have a registered enterprise agreement in place.

• Many businesses use ClockOn’s award interpreter to manage award or EBA compliance – especially those in healthcare, retail, or hospitality, where pay rules can be complex.

Managing Award Rates in ClockOn

If you're using a Modern Award, ClockOn allows you to:

• Use built-in templates for common awards (e.g. Hospitality, Retail, Pharmacy)

• Automatically apply:

  • Ordinary hours

  • Penalty rates

  • Weekend and public holiday rates

  • Allowances (e.g. meal, travel)

  • Leave accruals

• Ensure compliance with Fair Work and STP reporting through automation

Managing Enterprise Agreements (EBAs) in ClockOn

If you operate under an EBA, ClockOn lets you customise the award structure to reflect your unique agreement:

• Modify or build your own set of pay rules and conditions

• Adjust:

  • Ordinary and overtime rates

  • Break rules

  • Allowances

  • Shift conditions

• Set up triggers (e.g. time of day, length of shift) that activate specific pay outcomes

• Create multiple rule sets for different employee types or roles

Most businesses with complex EBAs choose to use ClockOn’s Award Setup Service, where our team configures the system to exactly match your agreement.

Example Workflow in ClockOn

1. Define rule sets (Award or EBA) and assign them to employees

2. Employees clock in/out via mobile, tablet or kiosk

3. ClockOn automatically interprets the shift based on the assigned rule set

4. Accurate pay rates, penalties, allowances and leave accruals are applied

5. Data flows directly into payroll for processing and ATO/STP reporting