Unlocking Success: How Winning A SCHADS Award Can Catapult Your Career
Imagine you are working in a sector that makes a difference in people’s lives every day. You are passionate about helping others, whether providing care, support, or advocacy. You are proud of your work but also want to be rewarded for your skills and experience.
That’s where the SCHADS Award comes in. But what is it exactly? How can it boost your career? In this article, we’ll explain the SCHADS Award, how it works, and how it can benefit you as an employee in the social, community, home care, or disability services sectors.
What is a SCHADS Award?
The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award or SCHADS Award sets the standards for employment in the social, community, home care, and disability services sectors. It covers employers and employees in the crisis assistance industry and supports housing, social and community services, home care, and family daycare.
1. Pay Rates and Entitlements under the SCHADS Award
The award specifies the minimum pay rates for disability services, work, and social and community services. It covers basic pay, extra pay for overtime and penalties, and additional allowances. It provides pay rates, entitlements, leave, and notice for employees in these industries.
Some of the critical entitlements under the SCHADS Award are:
Hours of work: The ordinary hours are 38 hours per week, which can be averaged over up to 4 weeks. Employees can work up to 10 hours per day, subject to certain conditions and agreements. Employees are entitled to a minimum of 10 hours break between shifts and two consecutive days off each week.
Rostering: Employers must provide employees with a roster at least 2 weeks in advance unless otherwise agreed. Employees can request changes to their roster for personal reasons, and employers must consider these requests and respond within 7 days. Employers can also change the roster for operational reasons but must consult with the affected employees and give them at least 7 days’ notice unless there is an emergency.
Allowances: Employees may be entitled to various allowances, such as travel allowance, vehicle allowance, broken shift allowance, sleeping shift allowance, first aid allowance, laundry allowance, and uniform allowance.
Overtime: Employees may be entitled to overtime pay for working more than their ordinary hours or outside their hours. The overtime pay rate is usually 150% of the base rate for the first 2 hours and 200% of the base rate of pay after that.
2. Covered Occupations and Industries
Examples of employees covered by the SCHADS Award include:
- Social workers
- Community development workers
- Crisis accommodation workers
- Youth workers
- Welfare workers
- Personal care workers
- Clerical and administrative support employees
3. Exclusions and Exceptions
Please note that the SCHADS Award doesn’t cover all employees in these sectors. For example, care workers in the family day care industry and clerical and administrative employees in the home care and crisis assistance and supported housing sectors are not covered. The award also doesn’t cover employers and employees when they are covered by one of the following awards:
- Aged Care Award
- Amusement Award
- Children’s Services Award
- Fitness Award
- Health Services Award
- Nurses Award
How Winning A SCHADS Award Can Catapult Your Career
Winning this award can significantly impact your career trajectory. Here’s how.
1. Recognition and Reputation
One of the most obvious benefits of winning a SCHADS Award is the recognition and reputation that comes with it. Winning a SCHADS Award can help you stand out from your peers and competitors, showing that you’ve met or exceeded the industry standards and expectations.
Scooping a SCHADS Award can also boost your credibility and authority in your sector, indicating that your work has been evaluated and endorsed by a reputable organization.
Winning a SCHADS Award can also enhance your personal and professional network, as it can open up opportunities for collaboration, partnership, and mentorship with other award winners, judges, and industry leaders.
You can also leverage your award to promote yourself and your organization by showcasing your achievements on your resume, website, social media, and other platforms.
2. Learning and Development
Another benefit of winning a SCHADS Award is the learning and development that comes with it. Winning a SCHADS Award can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement and innovation.
Winning a SCHADS Award can also expose you to new ideas, perspectives, and best practices from other award winners and judges, as well as feedback and suggestions from the award organizers.
Winning a SCHADS Award can also motivate you to pursue further education and training, as it can inspire you to keep up with the latest trends and developments in your sector. You can also use your award to access scholarships, grants, and other resources that can support your professional growth and development.
3. Impact and Influence
Winning a SCHADS Award can help you make a positive difference in your sector, as it can showcase your work and its outcomes to a broader audience. Winning a SCHADS Award can also raise awareness and advocacy for the issues and causes you care about, highlighting the challenges and opportunities your sector faces.
Winning a SCHADS Award can also empower you to lead and inspire others, as it can demonstrate your vision, values, and passion for your work. You can also use your award to influence policy and practice by sharing your insights and recommendations with decision-makers and stakeholders.
Conclusion
Winning a SCHADS Award can be one of the best things you can do for your social and community service career. It can unlock new doors, possibilities, and rewards for you. So don’t hesitate to take action today and start working towards your goal. You deserve it!
