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11 Aug2014

Employers fear disability wage reform will cost jobs

Employers fear disability wage reform will cost jobs

Scores of businesses employing people with a disability could be forced to close and thousands could lose their jobs as a result of a legal ruling which found some workers had been discriminated against, employers say.

About 20,000 Australians work in disability enterprises, performing tasks in fields such as printing, packaging, gardening and hospitality.

 

But employers say the jobs of as many as 10,000 of these workers are under threat because of a Federal Court ruling that the tool used to calculate their wages discriminated against people with intellectual disability.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has given employers until April next year to develop an alternative, non-discriminatory way of setting pay rates, but in a bid for more time, employers have sought a review of this decision. Ken Baker, the chief executive of National Disability Services, which represents many enterprises, said wage reform should not jeopardise jobs.

Dr Baker said switching to the tool preferred by the Human Rights Commission, called the Supported Wage System, would increase the wage costs of disability enterprises by more than 50 per cent overnight.

''Given that most of them barely break even, that would inevitably either close businesses or certainly lead to massive retrenchment of supported employees,'' he said.

Dr Baker said many of these workers would be unable to find jobs and would be deprived not only of their income but also the social networks and sense of satisfaction their jobs gave them.

Matt Hillas, 29, who drives a forklift at Wallara Industries in Keysborough, said through his job he had made new friends and picked up new skills.

''I love going to work every day as I have so much to do,'' he said.

But Therese Sands, the co-chief executive of People with Disability Australia, said no other worker would be asked to accept unjust wages to preserve the viability of their employer.

''It's almost like it doesn't matter if we discriminate against them... as long as we can keep [disability enterprises] open,'' she said.

 

What is an ADE?

An Australian Disability Enterprise (ADE) is a not-for-profit organisation, with charitable status, which provides meaningful employment for people with significant disability who would otherwise not be able to work. It is a business that makes products, or provides services. It is usually run by a not-for-profit organisation, but it is still expected to make a surplus after paying all its costs, including staff salaries.

Who works there?

So, an ADE operates in the same way as other businesses, but there is one major difference. An ADE employs people with disability, and its employees are supported in their work.

'Supported' means that there are support workers available to give the employees any assistance they need with their tasks. For example, an employee with learning difficulties may need regular reminders from their support worker about how to do a task. Support workers are also paid employees of the ADE.

How are ADEs funded?

ADEs are given Australian Government funding for each person they employ. The amount of funding depends on how much support the employee needs to do their job. There are about 600 ADEs around Australia that employ more than 20,000 people with disability.

 

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