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Cleaning Services Award 2020 (MA000022)

Loren Mathewson
Updated
EH Content Team

This article provides guidelines about when to use the different work types, shift conditions, and tags included as part of the pre-built Cleaning Services Award 2020 package. For further information about this award, refer to Cleaning Services Award.

Key updates

  Select the current financial year tab to see award updates for the 2025/26 financial year. All previous updates before this time you can find in the historical financial years tab.

Current financial year Historical financial years
November 2025

6th

We have introduced a new suite of configurations for Salaried Employment Agreements to allow the employers to manage the salaried employees, who are under Individual flexibility arrangements, directly within the award instead of having to remove them.

This introduction, which is an enhancement rather than a legislative update requirement, includes the items below if they do not already exist within an award:

  • Pay Categories (Salary and Salary - Public Holiday Not Worked).
  • Leave Allowance Templates for “No loading” and “With loading”.
  • Rule Set to disregard timesheets.
  • Pay Rate Templates.
  • Employment Agreements for all employee types (full-time, part-time, and casual).

For detailed information on the changes, please refer to our guide here.

August 2025

20th

We have released an update to the rules for automating unpaid and paid meal breaks to align with award requirements.

Key changes

1) The following rule sets have been updated:

  • Cleaning Services Full Time;
  • Cleaning Services Part Time;
  • Cleaning Services Casual.

2) The following rules have been amended to align with award requirements. They are triggered in different scenarios:

Unpaid meal breaks

  • Unless a shift qualifies for a paid meal break, a 30-minute unpaid meal break will be automatically deducted after 4.5 consecutive hours worked if no break is submitted, triggered by:
    • 14.2 Unpaid Auto Meal Break (non-shift work Mon-Fri).

Paid meal breaks

  • If an employee works 4 consecutive hours or more before taking a break under any of the following conditions, all subsequent break times will be treated as paid, triggered by:
    • 14.1 Paid Auto Meal Break (shift work before 6am)
      • On shifts commencing before 6am;
    • 14.1 Paid Auto Meal Break (shift work after 6pm)
      • On shifts finishing after 6pm;
    • 14.1 Paid Auto Meal Break (weekend);
      • On Saturday and Sunday shifts;
    • 14.1 Paid Auto Meal Break (shift work PH)
      • On public holiday shifts.

3) A new rule has been introduced for permanent night shifts:

  • On permanent night shifts ending after 12am and at or before 8am, if an employee works 4 consecutive hours or more before taking a break, all subsequent break times will be treated as paid.
    • 14.1 Paid Meal Break (Permanent Night Shift - Finishing After 12am and At or Before 8am).

4) The following rules have been retired to reflect the above changes:

  • 14.2 Manual unpaid meal break;
  • Treat Penalty Breaks as Paid Time.

5) The "Unpaid Meal Break" work type has been renamed to *DNU Unpaid Meal Break and its default accessibility has been removed across all employment types to archive this work type.

This work type should no longer be used for future submissions or processing.

For additional details, please refer to the Special Notes section.

July 2025

16th

We’ve updated the award to apply daily overtime rules under the Cleaning Services Full Time ruleset.

1st

We have updated the award to reflect the Fair Work Commission's National Minimum Wage increase detailed in the Annual Wage Review 2024-25 decision and also includes updates to expense-related allowances. You can find more information on the Determinations here and here.

These changes come into effect from the first full pay period on or after the 1st July 2025. Please install these updates after you have finalised your last pay run before the first full pay period beginning on or after the 1st July 2025.

Install and configure the pre-built award package

To read further details on how to install and configure this pre-built award template, please review the detailed help article. While we make every effort to provide a high-quality service, Employment Hero does not accept responsibility for, guarantee or warrant the accuracy, completeness or up-to-date nature of the service. Before relying on the information, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness, and relevance for their purposes. You should also obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.

Work types

Work types are a description of the kind of shift you are working, and you select them when you record a timesheet. The following is a list of work types employees can select on their timesheet, and the meaning of each item.

A - F
Annual leave taken Choose this work type when annual leave is taken.
Broken shift Choose this work type when an employee is rostered to work in two periods of duty within a maximum spread of 13 hours, with a break longer than one hour between the two periods
Call back Choose this work type when an employee is directed to attend the employer’s premises and/or the premises of a client, to perform administrative duties, or for disciplinary or counselling interviews after leaving the place of employment.
Cold work allowance Choose this work type when an employee works for more than one hour in a place or places where the temperature is reduced by artificial means below zero degrees celsius.
Compassionate leave taken Choose this work type when compassionate leave is taken.
Family and domestic violence leave taken Choose this work type when unpaid family and domestic violence leave taken is taken.
First aid allowance Choose this work type when an employee who has been trained to render first aid and who is the current holder of appropriate first aid qualifications and is appointed in writing to perform first aid duty.
G - L
Hot work allowance (up to 54 degrees) Choose this work type when an employee works for more than one hour in a place or places where the temperature is raised by artificial means to between 46 degrees Celsius and 54 degrees Celsius.
Hot work allowance (over 54 degrees) Choose this work type when an employee works for more than one hour in a place or places where the temperature is raised by artificial means to over 54 degrees Celsius.
Height work (up to 22nd floor) Choose this work type when an employee is required to clean from a swing scaffold, boatswain’s chair, or other similar device on the outside of multi-story buildings up to and including the 22nd floor above ground level.
Height work (above 22nd floor) Choose this work type when an employee is required to clean from a swing scaffold, boatswain’s chair or other similar device on the outside of multi-story buildings above the 22nd floor above ground level.
Leading hand (up to 10 employees) Choose this work type when an employee is placed in charge of up to 10 employees.
Leading hand (up to 20 employees) Choose this work type when an employee is placed in charge of up to 20 employees.
Leading hand (over 20 employees) Choose this work type when an employee is placed in charge of over 20 employees.
Leave without pay taken Choose this work type when unpaid leave is taken.
Long-service leave Choose this work type when long-service leave is taken.
M - R
Meal allowance Choose this work type when an employee is required to work an additional two hours without being notified on the previous day or earlier that they will be so required to work and are not supplied with a meal.
Motor vehicle allowance Use this work type to record the number of kilometres an employee has travelled using their own motor vehicle in the performance of their duties.
Motor cycle allowance Use this work type to record the number of kilometres an employee has travelled using their own motor cycle in the performance of their duties.
No meal break Choose this work type when a non-shift worker does not take an unpaid meal break during their shift.
Paid community service leave taken Choose this work type when paid jury duty/community service leave is taken.
Paid family and domestic violence leave Choose this work type when paid family and domestic violence leave is taken.
Personal/carer's leave taken Choose this work type when sick leave or carer’s leave is taken.
Public holiday not worked Choose this work type where a full time employee is not required to work on a shift falling on a public holiday that the employee would have otherwise worked had it not been a public holiday.
Public holiday not worked - PT Choose this work type where a part time employee is not required to work on a shift falling on a public holiday that the employee would have otherwise worked had it not been a public holiday.
Refuse collection Choose this work type when an employee is engaged for the major part of their time on refuse collection and/or disposal and/or sorting or feeding incinerators, furnaces, or compactors.
S - Z
Time in lieu taken Choose this work type when time in-lieu is taken.
TIL of OT Use this work type when an employee elects to receive time off in lieu of being paid for any overtime they are entitled to for this shift in accordance with clause 28.9 of the Award. 
Toilet cleaning Choose this work type when an employee is engaged for the major part of a day or shift in cleaning toilets.

*DNU Unpaid meal break

(archived)

*Do not use this work type for future submission and processing

Choose this work type when a non-shiftworker does take an unpaid meal break during their shift and such break has not been deducted automatically from their shift.

Shift conditions

Shift Conditions are further details you can add to a shift where more than one condition applies to your shift. Shift conditions are selected when you edit a timesheet record, or when clocking on using the ClockMeIn Time and Attendance or Swag apps. The following is a list of Shift Conditions employees can select on their timesheet, and the meaning of each item.

A - F
Cold work allowance Choose this shift condition when an employee works for more than one hour in a place or places where the temperature is reduced by artificial means below zero degrees Celsius.
First aid allowance Use this shift condition when an employee who has been trained to render first aid and who is the current holder of appropriate first aid qualifications and is appointed in writing to perform first aid duty.
G - L
Height work (up to 22 floor) Choose this shift condition when an employee is required to clean from a swing scaffold, boatswain’s chair or other similar device on the outside of multi-story buildings up to and including the 22nd floor above ground level.
Height work (above 22nd floor) Choose this shift condition when an employee is required to clean from a swing scaffold, boatswain’s chair or other similar device on the outside of multi-story buildings above the 22nd floor above ground level.
Hot work allowance (up to 54 degrees) Choose this shift condition when an employee works for more than one hour in a place or places where the temperature is raised by artificial means to between 46 degrees Celsius and 54 degrees Celsius.
Hot work allowance (over 54 degrees) Choose this shift condition when an employee works for more than one hour in a place or places where the temperature is raised by artificial means to over 54 degrees Celsius.
Leading hand (up to 10 employees) Use this shift condition when an employee is placed in charge of up to 10 employees.
Leading hand (up to 20 employees) Use this shift condition when an employee is placed in charge of up to 20 employees.
Leading hand (over 20 employees) Use this shift condition when an employee is placed in charge of over 20 employees.
M - R
Refuse collection Choose this shift condition when an employee is engaged for the major part of their time on refuse collection and/or disposal and/or sorting or feeding incinerators, furnaces, or compactors.
S - Z
Toilet cleaning Choose this shift condition when an employee is engaged for the major part of a day or shift ‌cleaning toilets.

Tags

Employee Tags are specific conditions typically related to the employee’s agreement. These are often conditions negotiated and agreed between the employer and the employee, or unique characteristics of the employee’s role. Payment of these provisions is usually of a recurring and ongoing nature.

A - F
2001 - 5000 sqm Assign this tag to a part-time or casual employee who is engaged at a location with a total cleaning area of between 2001 and 5000 square metres where the minimum engagement is three hours.
301 - 2000 sqm Assign this tag to a part-time or casual employee who is engaged at a location with a total cleaning area of between 301 and 2000 square metres where the minimum engagement is two hours.
5001+ sqm Assign this tag to a part-time or casual employee who is engaged at a location with a total cleaning area of over 5000 square metres where the minimum engagement is four hours.
7-day-shift worker Assign this tag if the employee is employed as a seven day shift worker who is regularly rostered to work on Sundays and public holidays for the purpose of accruing an additional 1 week of annual leave.
First aider Assign this tag to an employee who has been trained to render first aid and who is the current holder of appropriate first aid qualifications and is appointed in writing to perform first aid duty on a regular ongoing basis. If this tag is assigned to an employee, you will not be required to attach the First Aid Allowance work type to the employee's timesheet.
G - L
Leading hand A Assign this tag to an employee who is permanently placed in charge of up to 10 employees. If this tag is assigned to an employee, you will not be required to attach the Leading Hand (up to 10 employees) work type to the employee's timesheet. 
Leading hand B Assign this tag to an employee who is permanently placed in charge of up to 20 employees.  If this tag is assigned to an employee, you will not be required to assign the Leading Hand (up to 20 employees) work type to the employee's timesheet. 
Leading hand C Assign this tag to an employee who is permanently placed in charge of over 20 employees.  If this tag is assigned to an employee, you will not be required to assign the Leading Hand (over 20 employees) work type to the employee's timesheet. 
M - R
Permanent night shift Assign this tag to an employee where the night shifts worked, do not rotate or alternate with other shifts or day work. A night shift is defined as a period of duty ending after midnight and at or before 8am.
Refuse collector Assign this tag to an employee who is permanently engaged to undertake refuse collection and/or disposal and/or sorting or feeding incinerators, furnaces, or compactors. If this tag is assigned to an employee, you will not be required to attach the Refuse Collection work type to the employee's timesheet. 
S - Z
TIL of OT Assign this tag if the employee elects to always accrue time in lieu rather than be paid overtime.
Toilet cleaner Assign this tag to an employee who is permanently engaged in cleaning toilets. If this tag is assigned to an employee, you will not be required to attach the toilet cleaning work type to the employee's timesheet.

Special Notes

Paid Breaks

Paid break time, which counts as time worked, can be included with hours worked on timesheets.

Relationship between Shift Consolidation, Gaps Between Shifts and Paid Breaks

When multiple shifts are consolidated into a single shift (based on your shift consolidation setup), a break will automatically be inserted to cover the gap between the shifts. Depending on the shift hours, this inserted break may qualify as a paid break.

Example:

  • An employee works from 4:00am-8:00am (first timesheet record) and again from 9:00am-11:00pm (second timesheet record).
  • If shift consolidation is applied within 1 hour, these two shifts will be treated as a single shift.
  • The 1-hour gap (8:00am-9:00am) will be inserted as a break.
  • This gap will be treated as a paid break.

Further information

Time in Lieu Explanation

Time off instead of payment for overtime leave accrues at the same rate as the number of overtime hours worked. For example, an employee who worked two overtime hours would have the entitlement to two hours’ time off. If you do take time off for overtime and the time off you intend, pay it out, you must pay at the overtime rate applicable to the overtime when worked

It also applies when you terminate an employee and you have to pay out their time in lieu. To pay it out correctly, you will need to record the overtime rate manually while you are processing the time in lieu accrual. We suggest that you record the overtime details in the Notes section of the leave accrual line in the pay run.

If you are required to pay out the time off for overtime either before termination or during termination, you can run a Pay Run Audit Report. It will show the pay runs for the employee where they accrued Time in Lieu, enabling yout to determine the applicable rates.

Next, you can run an Employee Payment History Report to determine if they took any of the time off for overtime. You can then determine the correct balance based on the number of hours worked, by taking off the equivalent overtime payment you made.

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