Ms Cathy Maguire:

The current obligation is that the employee would know the roster at least 24 hours before the start of the week. I saw in some of the documents I read in preparation for the meeting complaints from people that they were waiting for the call for the next day. The Act requires notification at the beginning of the week. If one is only working one day in the week then 24 hours is required, otherwise it is 24 hours before the start of the week. If one finishes work more than 24 hours before the next week's work, then one should be notified before one leaves work. The idea is that before one leaves on a Friday one looks at the roster and one knows when one is on the following week.

The section is not that easy to read and that may be part of the problem. The committee might take the view that it needs to require employers to give more notice but part of the problem can be that the employer does not know in advance, in particular where some employees are filling in for other employees who might be out sick or on holidays. There can be difficulties but that is a matter for the committee to consider.