FAQs

Personal (sick) leave is only available when you are not fit for work due to illness or injury, so pre-booked doctor’s appointments do not count as personal leave. If the appointment is for routine or elective procedures where you are still fit for work, you will need to use another type of leave, such as annual leave or unpaid leave. However, recovery time following an operation, including elective surgery, does count as personal leave, as this is time when you are unfit to work due to recovery from the procedure.

Yes, under the Electrical, Electronic, and Communications Contracting Award 2020, you can cash out annual leave, but there are specific rules to follow. You must have at least 4 weeks of annual leave remaining after the cash-out, and you can’t cash out more than 2 weeks in any 12-month period. To cash out leave, you need a signed written agreement with your employer that specifies the amount of leave being cashed out, the payment you’ll receive (which must be the same as if you took the leave), and the payment date. If you’re under 18, your parent or guardian must also sign the agreement.

Under the Electrical Award, a night shift is defined as any shift that finishes after midnight and before 8:00 am, while an afternoon shift is any shift that finishes after 6:00 pm and before midnight. If you work on either an afternoon or night shift, you are entitled to a shift allowance of 115% of your ordinary hourly rate. However, if the shift does not continue for at least five consecutive afternoons or nights, the payment differs. For full-time and part-time employees, the first two hours are paid at 150% of the ordinary rate, and any additional hours are paid at 200%.

A permanent night shift applies when you only work night shifts during your engagement, you remain on night shift for more than four consecutive weeks, or your night shift does not rotate with other shifts or day work. In such cases, you are entitled to be paid 130% of your ordinary hourly rate for all ordinary hours worked during the night shift period.

If you’re using your own vehicle to travel to and from the job site, you are entitled to several allowances. These include a Fares Allowance of $27.52 per day, a Travel Time Allowance based on your classification (ranging from $4.23 to $7.36 per day for apprentices), and a Motor Vehicle Allowance of $0.98 per kilometre. The Motor Vehicle Allowance applies when you’re travelling between your workshop or depot and a job, between jobs, or when you’re called back to work overtime after leaving the business.

If you’re using a company vehicle, the allowances are slightly different. You will receive a Fares Allowance of $4.94 per day and the Travel Time Allowance, which is also based on your classification.

For job sites more than 50km from your employer’s registered office, workshop, or depot, you are entitled to a travel time payment for the time spent travelling beyond the 50km radius. This payment is calculated on a quarter-hour basis at your ordinary rate. If you are using your own vehicle, you will also receive the Motor Vehicle Allowance for each kilometre travelled beyond the 50km mark.

No travel allowances are applicable if you start and finish at the employer’s office or depot.

When an employee is required to work away from their usual location and live on distant work under the Electrical Award, the employer must either provide reasonable board and lodging or pay a living away allowance of $701.21 per week. This allowance is not considered wages but is meant to cover the employee’s living expenses while away from home.

Additionally, if meals are not included in the cost of the accommodation or provided by the employer, the employee is entitled to an allowance of $19.29 per meal.

Your timesheet must be submitted by Monday as Electro CA runs weekly pay runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.

You are required to submit your timesheet via the Anytime Online Timesheet portal. Electro CA will show you how to submit a timesheet at your induction.

Weekly timesheets are open every Friday. A timesheet link will be automatically sent through to your email.

Timesheets are processed on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Your payday will depend on your host employer’s pay cycle (e.g. a week running Monday through Sunday, Tuesday through Monday, Wednesday through Tuesday, or Thursday through Wednesday).

You must provide a medical certificate for personal leave or sick leave to utilise these leave entitlements.

You need to fill in Electro CA’s leave form, notify your host employer, gain your host employer’s signed approval, and notify your field officer with their signed approval. Once all four steps are completed, you are set to go on leave!

You can check your superannuation balance by downloading your super fund’s mobile application and making an account. Alternatively, you can call your super fund, answer some identification questions, and find out your balance over the phone.

If you’re a Cbus Super member, you can register for a secure online member account in minutes. Your online member account allows you to manage your super when you want, where you want.

Not only can you view your account balance, check how your investments are performing or see what insurance cover you have, you can also:

• change how your super is invested
• apply to change your insurance cover
• easily search for and combine your super, and
• update your non-binding beneficiary nominations

And to keep up with the latest Cbus Super information, you can update most of your personal details easily online.

How to register?

You can register online at cbussuper.com.au/register or search Cbus in your app store to get started. It takes about five minutes to register and the information you need to provide is straight forward – you’ll need to have your Cbus Super member number handy! If you don’t know your member number, call us on 1300 361 784.

Having trouble registering?

If you’ve changed your name, address, mobile number or email since you first joined Cbus Super and haven’t updated your details, you may not be able to register online. Call us on 1300 361 784 to ensure your details are up to date.

Most people think their super automatically becomes part of their estate when they die. But it doesn’t – super funds must follow super and tax laws to decide who is eligible to receive your super and any insurance payments.

You can choose who gets your super by nominating a beneficiary or beneficiaries.

A beneficiary can be your dependants (such as your spouse, children or anyone who’s financially dependent on you) or anyone you have an interdependent relationship with.

You can make two types of beneficiary nominations:

1. Binding

A binding nomination means you can elect who you want your super and insurance to go when you die, as long as:

• you choose an eligible person or people to receive your benefit (in accordance with the super fund’s Trust Deed and relevant legislation);
• the eligible person or people is/are your dependants or legal personal representative; and
• you’ve made your nomination in the last three years and continue to renew it every three years.

1. Non-Binding

A non-binding nomination means your benefit will be paid to either your dependant/s or your legal personal representative, but your super fund will make the final decision. While the decision will be made under the super fund’s Trust Deed, people you’ve chosen will be considered.

To read more about nominating a beneficiary and who can be nominated visit cbussuper.com.au/beneficiaries or watch the Beneficiaries video on our Know-How HQ.