Child Care Wages

[rona.t]

Hi,
My colleagues and I work in a private childcare in western Sydney. We are wondering what the wages are for a Traineeship, Certificate III , a cook and a Diploma. We asked some of our friends who also works in a childcare and they said that we are underpaid. Is the pay different for a Public and a Private Childcare? How do we approach our boss about this topic without upsetting them?

It would a great help if you could provide information for us regarding this topic.


Thank You in advance

[Lorina]

Hi Rona,

If you feel you are being underpaid then this needs to be rectified. It's not good for you or other staff if this has been happening. You don't need to worry about upsetting your boss when discussing this because at the end of the day it's unethical for your boss be underpaying you in the first place. Also work is work, you're there to do a job and you should be paid accordingly for it. First off we need to work out your minimum wage and then go from there...

Within the Childcare Wages there are "Levels' in which you will fit under based upon your qualification and how long you have been working in the centre for. With the information you have given me so far the levels in which you fall under are:

Cook - Level 1 (with no formal qualification)
Certificate 3 - Level 3
Diploma - Level 4

I am jut going to give you the minimum hourly wage for each position you mentioned based on the first year of working. If any of you have worked more than a year then your minimum wage increases. Minimum wage means that this is the lowest hourly rate you can legally receive. These rates are approximate:

Cook - Level 1 (with no formal qualification): $16.75 per hour
Certificate 3 - Level 3: $19 per hour
Diploma - Level 4: $22.46 per hour

As for the traineeship it depends on the staffs age and how long they have been out of school. If they have been out of school for 5 years or more the minimum wage is $538.70 per week. If they have been out of school less then 5 years then the weekly wage is less.

I am also giving you links to the articles we have available on our Wiki on wages, for your reference.

Level For Childcare Wages
Childcare Wages In Australia

If you're having trouble trying to work it out, don't worry I will help you. Just let me know how long each of you have been working at your current centre as well as your position and for the traineeship when they finished school.

I really hope that if you are being underpaid you approach the boss and get this sorted,

Hope this helps,

,
L.A

[rona.t]

Thank you so much for that information.
We would also like to ask about a wage for a Nominated Supervisor who holds a Diploma and is nearly at this centre for 2 years.
Our Certificate III finished her Traineeship in August last year. She is currently getting $16.51 per hour. Is that right for a Private Centre? When she was in her Traineeship she was only getting $10.50 per hour.

And for me a traineeship, I just finished Year 12 last September.

Waiting for your reply soon...

[Lorina]

Hey Rona,

No worries I'm glad to hear my information helped! In regards to your questions:

1) Nominated supervisor who has been at the centre for two years - From what I understand the nominated supervisor (who is in charge of running the day to day operations like the director) is classified as a Level 5 within the childcare wages. If they have been the nominated supervisor the whole 2 years your hourly wage would approximate be $23.80/. If they have only been a nominated supervisor only for a year then your hourly wage is $23.50/.

2) Trainee ship that completed last year will be classified as a Level 3.1. The hourly wage is approximately $19.00/.

3) As for you, completed year 12 last year and currently completing a traineeship your wage is approximately $10.60/.

It seems like some staff may be getting underpaid. The next step would be to do is check your pay slip and check what classification each of you are. It should say something CSE 4.1 (for example) or Level 4.1 If you can't find it just ask your boss what level you are. Next get a copy of the Children's Services Award 2010. You can just Google it and download it. From here you will find all the wages information. Take this to your boss and show them and ask why you are being paid less then what it states in the award.

If your boss still doesn’t agree to pay what it states then you will have to take this issue further to the Fair Work Ombudsman, This is a last resort only.

Like I said in my previous post don’t be afraid to speak to your boss about this and find out what's going on….

It will be alright and hopefully everything will get sorted,

Let me know what happens,

,
L.A