• Staff Support Package for council employees
• Workforce Transition Code of Practice

Staff Support Package for council employees

Jobs protected for three years

The Queensland Government has introduced a $12 million Staff Support Package to protect job security for council employees. The protection, which applies to everyone other than CEOs, mayors and councillors, will continue for three years from the council elections, through to 15 March 2011. The Package provides certainty to staff about jobs, job changes, employment security, and the support available to assist staff in the transition.

A key policy of local government reform is to maximise job security and staff retention for local government employees. The Government is committed to retaining local government staff and maintaining a strong local government workforce throughout Queensland.

The Government has announced a Local Government Employee Workforce Transition Code of Practice, which details the key principles for staff transition arrangements. The essential principles within the Code are:

• service delivery levels should be maintained or enhanced
• as far as possible, the locations at which local government employees perform their work should not be changed.

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Workforce Transition Code of Practice

The Workforce Transition Code of Practice details the guidelines by which councils must adhere when transitioning staff to new local government arrangements.

View the Workforce Transition Code of Practice ( 172 KB).

The essential principles of the Code are that:

• service delivery levels should be maintained or enhanced
• as far as possible, the locations at which local government employees perform their work should not be changed.

The supporting principles of the Code are that:

• employment security for local government employees should be maximised
• local government staff should be retained to the maximum extent achievable
• the impact of reform matters on local government employees should be minimised
• there should be maximum employee involvement in the implementation of the reform matters as they affect employees
• contracts of employment should be honoured
• there should be maximum support given to employees
• employees should be treated fairly and with respect
• merit and equity should apply in all appointments
• there should be prompt and sensitive dispute resolution
• there should be no overall loss of employment across the local government employment sector
• there should be no overall reduction in working conditions for any employee
• there should be no overall disadvantage to an employee in relation to the employee's working conditions.

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