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There are few matters more important to members at Ambulance Victoria (AV) than the ability to finish their shift on time. The Victorian Ambulance Union Incorporated (VAU) have heard from many members at AV that they are currently working an unreasonable amount of overtime.

The Agreement doesn’t provide a definition of “unreasonable overtime” in minutes or hours. However, it does include a number of circumstances which both members and AV must take into account in determining whether the requirement to work overtime is unreasonable. The circumstances are as follows (the relevant circumstances) (clause 45.1(c)):

• i) any risk to the employee’s health and safety from working the overtime including previous overtime worked;
• ii) the employee’s personal circumstances including any family responsibilities;
• iii) the needs of the workplace or enterprise including the Employer’s primary function to provide pre-hospital care and transport in an emergency setting;
• iv) the notice (if any) given by the Employer of the overtime;
• v) the notice given by the employee of his or her intention to refuse to work any required overtime;
• vi) the usual patterns of work in the industry, or the part of an industry, in which the employee works;
• vii) the nature of the employee’s role, and the employee’s level of responsibility;
• viii) whether the additional hours are in accordance with averaging terms included in this Agreement; an
• ix) any other relevant matter.

Notice referred to in paragraph (v) above should be given to the relevant manager and occur as soon as reasonably practicable and where applicable, prior to or at the commencement of your rostered shift (clause 45.1(d)).

If, on the basis of the relevant circumstances, you consider that AV’s requirement that you work overtime hours may be unreasonable, you must as soon as reasonably practicable, advise AV why you think the additional hours are unreasonable taking into account the relevant circumstances, and whether you intend to work the overtime (clause 45.1(e)). This discussion, however, must not delay your response to a code one or priority zero case (clause 45.1(f)).

If you are required to work “reasonable overtime”, AV will consider potential options to reduce the overtime hours or mitigate the impact of the overtime on your personal circumstances, such as family responsibilities, including the dispatch of a back-up resource to the case (clause 45.1(g)).

Let’s break this down.

Under the Agreement, you have the right to refuse to work unreasonable overtime based on the relevant circumstances listed above. Your employer has agreed to these clauses. It is important that members read the clause in full like any CPG and take the time to understand it and put it to use.

How do I work out whether overtime is unreasonable?

It is important to understand how the relevant considerations may apply to both you and AV and how they should be used to determine if overtime is unreasonable and therefore able to be refused. Here are some examples of circumstances where overtime may be unreasonable:

(i) any risk to your health and safety from working the overtime including previous overtime worked;

• You are fatigued and experiencing symptoms of fatigue.

• You worked overtime earlier this week, e.g. 2 hours overtime yesterday and 2 hours the day before.

(ii) your personal circumstances including any family responsibilities;

• You have to collect your children from day care or school.

• If you don’t finish on time you will be fatigued and will not be fit to care for your children in the morning.

• You are caring for an aging parent and need to be home as their day-time carer has left.

iv) the notice (if any) given by the Employer of the overtime;

• You have been told by the Duty Manager towards the last hour of your shift that AV wants you to work overtime, or you are sent to a job that will take you past the end of your shift.

(v) the notice given by you of your intention to refuse to work any required overtime;

• You called your Manager before shift and said something like:

• “tonight I will be unable to work beyond my finish time as I have to collect my children”; or

• “I worked 2 hours overtime yesterday and the day before. I will be extremely fatigued if I am directed to work overtime tonight.”

(vii) the nature of your role, and your level of responsibility;

• You are in a specialist role such as a MICA Flight Paramedic (MFP) and no other MFP is available (this does not mean that you are exempt from this clause – only that it must be considered).  

(viii) whether the additional hours are in accordance with averaging terms included in this Agreement;

• This simply relates to how hours are averaged over a roster cycle. For example, a member will work 48 hours over four shifts on a 10/14 roster, however over the full roster cycle the hours will balance out to 40 hours per week plus 2 hours of rostered overtime.

(ix) any other relevant matter.

• There is another crew here who are available to respond.

If, having regard to these factors, you decide that working overtime is unreasonable, you have the right to refuse to work overtime. Once again – your employer has agreed to all of the clauses in the Agreement including those related to refusal of unreasonable overtime.

How to refuse unreasonable overtime – a step-by-step guide

1. Tell the relevant manager before your rostered shift that you are notifying them of your intention to refuse to work unreasonable overtime.

The Agreement doesn’t define relevant manager. In this regard, our advice is that the relevant manager is your Regional Duty Manager (RDM) or Area Manager (AM), not the Duty Manager (DM) or Communications Support Paramedic (CSP). It is important that you have the contact details for your RDM or AM to call in advance or at the beginning of your shift. Ultimately it is AV’s responsibility to ensure that there is a relevant manager available to have these discussions with members.

2. As soon as you are required by AV to work overtime during your rostered shift, e.g. when the DM calls and sends you to a case that will take you past your rostered finish time, tell the DM or any other AV representative:

a) Why you consider the additional hours to be unreasonable based on the relevant circumstances; and

b) That you do not intend to work overtime.

Make sure that you do not delay responding to a code one or priority zero case when having this conversation.

When having this discussion, it is important that you are prepared to explain why working overtime is unreasonable. This means that you should be prepared to explain your family circumstances or previously worked overtime.

It is important not to feel intimidated by having this conversation. You are an AV employee covered by the Agreement and have the right to refuse to work overtime in circumstances where the working of such overtime would result in you working hours which are unreasonable.

3. Go home!

How to have the conversation with AV

Here is an example of how you could have this conversation with AV when refusing overtime (step 2 above):

AV: Are you refusing to go to this case?

Member: One second I’ll just get my Agreement open. Ok I have the Agreement open. Please refer to clause to 45.1 reasonable overtime. Now I worked 2 hours of overtime yesterday which was my first day shift, on my second day shift I worked 1.5 hours overtime. This is my afternoon shift and this Code 2 case is likely to take me another 2 hours overtime as the hospitals are busy tonight. I am already feeling tired from my work this week and working overtime will make me fatigued which is a risk to my health and safety. I told you in advance of the shift that I will refuse to work unreasonable overtime. You have only told me now, towards the end of my shift that you are requiring me to work overtime. Further, I am an ALS paramedic and there are other paramedics available that can respond to the case at my level. So on that basis I consider that working any additional hours is unreasonable and I am refusing to work unreasonable overtime.

AV: Are you refusing to respond to this case??

Member: With respect, I am refusing to work unreasonable overtime as per clause 45.1 of the Agreement. If you would like me to discuss this with a manager please arrange for them to call me.

Points to consider:

• Like any CPG, it is important that you read and understand it all and how to apply it. This is not a simple exercise. The entire clause must be read in full and understood.
• These clauses should be printed up and placed in every ambulance and on every branch notice board.
• When exercising your rights under the Agreement it is always important to remember that all discussions are recorded and it is important to be polite and professional.
• The employer also has rights under this clause and it is important to have regard to these.

Fatigue:

It is important to remember that if you suffer fatigue as a result of workplace stress, working excess overtime or high workload, then you are entitled to put in a WorkCover claim. Often members do not bother putting in a WorkCover claim especially when the member has left their shift only a matter of hours before the end of the shift. Anytime you experience fatigue you should exercise your rights to lodge a WorkCover claim. This means that you will be covered with the additional protections provided by WorkCover.

Documentation:

In any of these matters it is important that you take an accurate record of your discussion with management. This is especially important if you have advised AV that you are exercising your rights under clause 45.1 of the Agreement and refusing to work unreasonable overtime and AV have refused to abide by the terms of the Agreement.

Where applicable the VAU will take as many cases to the Fair Work Commission or Federal Court as is necessary to ensure that AV abide by the terms of the Agreement. Having detailed records is important.

The best way to take a record is to send yourself an email straight away detailing who you spoke with, what was said and AV’s response. The email will then be a time-stamped contemporaneous note of what happened which is strong evidence before the Commission or a Court.

Considerations for Communications Staff:

For our members who are Duty Managers and Communications Support Paramedics, the VAU understands that you are under enormous pressure and typically do not have the time available to discuss the industrial complexities relating to these clauses. It is imperative that you refer these discussions upward to more senior management. You cannot be expected to take responsibility for the lack of a systematic approach to getting crews off at their rostered finish time. It is AV’s responsibility to build systems that allow you to refer industrial matters to decision makers in a timely manner.

Considerations for Managers:

It is incumbent on AV to develop systems of work to ensure the Agreement is followed. Little has been done to practically enforce these clauses of the Agreement. It is left up to managers to make decisions and to be accountable for the end of shift management. This also means that managers are accountable in situations where AV may be in breach of the Agreement.

Conclusion:

Like any clause in the Agreement it is important that we use them to their fullest. These clauses have been agreed to by your employer and they should be used. The reliance on members to work incidental overtime has become unsustainable. It is important that members are educated on their rights and that collectively we use them to hold AV to account and ensure that you finish your shifts in a safe and reasonable timeframe.

REGIONAL DUTY MANAGER CONTACT NUMBERS

If members intend to refuse to work unreasonable overtime, which you are entitled to do under the Ambulance Victoria Enterprise Agreement 2020, you should notify the relevant manager before the start of your shift of your intention to refuse to work any required overtime (see clauses 45.1(c)(v) and (d)).

In this regard the relevant manager is not the Duty Manager (DM) or Communications Support Paramedic (CSP). The relevant manager is the Regional Duty Manager (RDM).

If during your shift AV then requires you to work overtime, you can give the RDM a call and let them know that you have already notified the relevant manager of your intention not to work overtime in accordance with clauses 45.1(c) (v) and (d) of the Agreement.

Please refer to our previous bulletin referenced above for more advice about how to have this conversation and what information you need to tell AV when you are refusing to work unreasonable overtime.