Delayed rollout of People Hub Workforce inadvertently delivers a positive outcome for CPSU members
Several weeks ago the ABC advised staff that its nation-wide rollout of People Hub Workforce (PHW) would not proceed in March as planned. A subsequent meeting with the ABC this week confirmed the rollout is paused indefinitely while the project team reviews its system design.
The delay is a major setback for the project team but also for the ABC who entered into legally enforceable undertakings with the Fair Work Ombudsman to have an electronic rosters and time keeping system up and running by this year. It is unclear whether the delay will result in further penalties to the ABC.
But it’s not all bad news. The delay also means the ABC will be winding back some decisions regarding its system design, including its decision that rostered employees would not be able to record their actual hours of work in the system.
The CPSU has been very critical of this decision since November when the ABC first advised us that this is what they would be doing. Given the extent of ABC employee underpayment in recent years, we believe management should be doing everything they can to support and encourage staff to systematically capture the hours of work they are doing. Therefore we are pleased the redesigned system WILL allow rostered employees to record their actual hours of work.
It’s not clear when the rollout will recommence although the ABC did indicate it may not be this year. Given we’re heading into negotiations for a new Enterprise Agreement after the federal election, there is some merit in holding off on the redesign now, to ensure the new system design can deliver on potential claims.
In the interim, rostered members are advised to continuing checking your rosters and pay slips each fortnight to ensure all your penalties are being paid correctly. Our recent Q&A on rosters has already helped some members to pick up errors in their pay.
