This article answers common questions about the "uplifted hours" (top-up) calculation for Academic Teachers, Teachers, and Tutors/Instructors under the Educational Services (Post-Secondary Education) Award [MA000075].
What the uplifted hours logic is
Under the Educational Services (Post-Secondary Education) Award, certain teaching roles have a unit multiplier applied to their contact hours to account for non-teaching duties such as preparation, administration, assessment, and consultation.
| Eligible Employee | Award Clause | Calculation Logic |
|---|---|---|
| Teachers | 14.3(c)(i) | 1 contact hour = 1.5 hours of work |
| Tutors / Instructors | 14.3(c)(ii) | 1 contact hour = 1.25 hours of work |
| Academic Teachers (Initial) | 14.2(d)(i) | 1 lecture/tutorial hour = 3 hours of work |
| Academic Teachers (Repeat within 28 days) | 14.2(d)(iii) | 1 lecture/tutorial hour = 2 hours of work |
Casual Employees Exclusions
Academic Teachers
According to the Pay Guide, casual Academic Teachers are paid at a fixed rate per work occasion. The uplifted hours logic does not apply to this group.
Teachers and Tutors/Instructors
According to Fair Work guidance, the uplift calculation method does not apply to casual Teachers or Tutors/Instructors either.
Further reading
See the Fair Work Pay Guide: Rates for Teachers and Tutors/Instructors for full details on casual exclusions.
Why this logic is not “Prebuilt”
Due to significant variations in how the Award is interpreted and technical limitations regarding session tracking, this has not been configured as a prebuilt setting.
Divergent Interpretations of Leave Loading
The primary complexity stems from conflicting applications of the uplift ratio specifically regarding leave taken:
The multiplier applies to both worked time and leave taken.
A 1:1 ratio is applied for leave, regardless of the contact hour uplift.
Because there is no single definitive application of the Award on this point, a single prebuilt configuration cannot accommodate both scenarios.
Instructional Requirement for Employees
To accommodate these variations, manual intervention is required during the leave request process:
Important: Default hours will cause incorrect uplift calculations
If Advanced Hours are not defined in a profile, the system defaults leave requests to standard hours (e.g., 7.6 hours). If not corrected, the multiplier is applied to 7.6 — not the employee's actual contact hours.
- When submitting a leave request, the system auto-populates the hours field with the default (e.g., 7.6).
- The employee mustmanually overwritethis value with their actual scheduled contact hours.
- The system then applies the correct multiplier to the adjusted figure.
Technical Complexity & Session Tracking
Automation for Academic Teachers is further limited by the distinction between Initial (3×) and Repeat within 28 days (2×) session types.
Why manual selection is unavoidable
The platform cannot natively track the 28-day window required to distinguish initial from repeat sessions. The payroll administrator or employee must manually select the correct work type or shift condition for every entry. Because manual selection is required regardless, a prebuilt automated configuration provides no practical benefit.
Custom Award Setup Guide
If you choose to implement the uplifted hours logic, follow the customisation steps below.
Configuration differs by employee type — Academic Teachers require a work type / shift condition approach, while Teachers and Tutors/Instructors use a tag-based approach.
Academic Teachers - Work Type Driven
Create new work types/ shift conditions
Create entirely new work types for permanent employees — for example, Perm - Lecture/Tutorial Initial or Perm - Lecture/Tutorial Repeat.
Setting up new work types/shift conditions will allow the rules for the uplifted hours logic to apply to respective shifts of Initial or Repeat.
Do not reuse existing casual work types
Casual work types have different configurations and will produce incorrect results if applied to permanent employee shifts.
For step-by-step instructions on setting up work types and shift conditions, see: Add, edit, and delete work types on Payroll Classic ↗
Configure custom rules for normal hours
Set up separate custom rules for each session type to ensure the correct multiplier is applied to worked time.
Initial lecture / tutorial
Repeat lecture / tutorial
Configure custom rules for leave taken
Initial lecture / tutorial
Repeat lecture / tutorial
Teachers and Tutors/Instructors - Tag Driven
Create a new tag
Setting up dedicated tags enables the uplifted hours logic to be applied correctly to the relevant employees.
For instructions on creating tags and assigning them to employees, see: Manage your organisation's tags on Payroll Classic ↗
Configure custom rules for normal hours
Set up custom rules for each relevant tag to apply the correct multiplier.
Teachers
Tutors / Instructors
Configure custom rules for leave taken
Teachers
Tutors / Instructors