When part-time hours are changing, identify whether the proposal affects the ongoing agreed pattern, a temporary period or only a particular roster. Check the applicable award, agreement and contract, then record the actual change and any required process clearly.
Consultation about a roster and agreement to vary contractual hours are not automatically the same thing. Establish what is being proposed before signing a document or treating an informal discussion as a completed variation.
Locate the existing hours record
Find the document setting out the current hours and pattern. It may identify days, start and finish times, guaranteed hours, availability or rules for changing them. Compare that record with recent rosters and note any unresolved difference. Our comparison of casual and full-time work arrangements provides broader context for employment types; use the actual part-time agreement and applicable rules to decide how your hours may change.
Fair Work’s part-time employee guidance explains that many awards and agreements have record-keeping arrangements for part-time hours. Check the relevant provisions rather than assuming one standard form applies to every workplace.
Do not assume a change automatically converts employment to casual work. Employment type, hours and pay consequences require their own checks under the actual arrangement.
Clarify the proposal in writing
Use this original variation worksheet:
- Current arrangement: identify the agreed hours and the document supporting them.
- Proposed change: specify days, times, total hours and any other affected term.
- Type: temporary, ongoing or a one-off roster proposal.
- Dates: proposed start and, for a temporary change, end or review date.
- Process: relevant agreement, consultation and recording requirements.
- Consequences: pay, leave, availability and other questions to resolve.
- Outcome: agreed wording, unresolved points and who will confirm the record.
Keep the original and revised versions. A blank end date in a temporary arrangement can create uncertainty about when the earlier pattern resumes.
Distinguish consultation from consent
Fair Work’s consultation guide describes requirements for consulting about changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours under applicable awards and agreements. Consultation includes information, an opportunity to give views and consideration of those views.
That consultation process does not, by itself, answer whether a particular contractual or award term requires agreement to vary the hours. Ask which rule governs each part of the proposal and seek advice where the position is unclear.
A fictional clarification email
This original example uses an invented employee:
“My current hours are recorded in the attached agreement. Could you confirm whether the proposed change is temporary or ongoing, its intended start and review dates, and the provision used to vary the arrangement? I would also like to discuss the effect on my caring commitments before the proposal is finalised.”
Attach only the relevant records through the appropriate private channel. Do not describe a proposal as agreed if important terms are still being discussed.
Check the implemented arrangement
Once the process is resolved, compare the written record, roster and payroll setup. Check the first affected pay period and raise a specific discrepancy promptly. Do not assume every entitlement changes in direct proportion to a change in hours; some leave and other entitlements have different rules.
Retain the final arrangement and review date. If the actual pattern later changes again, revisit the applicable process instead of allowing a series of informal exceptions to become an unclear employment record.
