Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award coverage: A comprehensive guide

The Banking, Finance and Insurance Award 2020 is designed to ensure that employees in these sectors receive fair wages and appropriate working conditions. This award addresses the specific needs of roles such as bank tellers, financial advisors, and insurance agents, ensuring these professionals are fairly compensated and protected. For businesses operating in these industries, understanding and adhering to this award is crucial to maintaining legal compliance and fostering a fair and equitable workplace environment.

This guide offers an in-depth exploration of the Banking, Finance and Insurance Award, providing businesses with the necessary information to navigate its intricacies and ensure they meet all compliance requirements.

Note: The information provided in this article is accurate as of 04/09/2024. As award conditions and rates are subject to change, please refer to the latest version of the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award for the most current information.

Who’s covered under the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award?

The Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award covers many roles within the banking, finance, and insurance sectors. Below, you can find information pertaining to who’s typically covered under this award: 

Private-sector banking, finance, and insurance employees

This award applies to employees across Australia engaged in various financial services. These professionals are essential to the industry, handling tasks such as banking, lending, providing credit, investment, and finance. Examples include:

• Bank tellers: Handling transactions, customer service, and cash management.
• Financial advisors: Providing investment advice, financial planning, and portfolio management.
• Loan officers: Managing loan applications, approvals, and disbursements.
• Credit analysts: Assessing creditworthiness of loan applicants and managing credit risk.
• Insurance agents: Selling and servicing insurance policies.
• Claims adjusters: Managing and processing insurance claims.
• Underwriters: Evaluating risk and determining insurance coverage terms.
• Actuaries: Analysing statistical data to calculate insurance risks and premiums.
• Debt recovery agents: Managing and recovering overdue payments.
• Financial consultants: Providing expert financial advice to businesses and individuals.
• Brokers: Facilitating the buying and selling of financial products.
• Valuers: Assessing the value of assets for insurance and financial purposes.

On-hire employees

This award covers any employer supplying labour on an on-hire basis within the banking, finance, and insurance industry, and the on-hire employees engaged in performing work for businesses in this sector. Examples include:

• Temporary financial advisors: Advisors hired through a staffing agency to assist with short-term projects or busy periods.
• Contract claims processors: Claims processors provided by an on-hire company to fill in during staff shortages or special projects.

Trainees employed by group training employers

Employers providing group training services for trainees in the banking, finance, and insurance industries are covered by this award, along with the trainees engaged by group training services to perform work at relevant locations. Examples include:

• Trainee financial advisors: Individuals gaining hands-on experience in financial planning and investment while pursuing their qualifications.
• Trainee insurance agents: Trainees working alongside experienced agents to learn insurance sales and service skills while completing their studies.

Who isn’t covered under the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award?

It’s essential to understand who isn’t covered under the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award. Here are the specific groups that fall outside the scope of this award:

• Employees excluded from modern awards: Certain individuals are excluded from award coverage by the Fair Work Act, such as high-level executives or senior managers.
• State reference public sector employees: Employees governed by state-specific public sector awards or transitional awards are excluded. For instance, professionals working in state-run financial services under a state-specific public sector award are not covered by the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award.
• Employees under modern enterprise awards or instruments: Employees who are covered by modern enterprise awards or enterprise instruments aren’t included under this award. For example, staff working under a bespoke enterprise agreement tailored to a large financial institution would fall outside this award’s coverage.

Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award coverage: Practical example

Emily is a full-time loan officer at a large credit union. Her primary responsibilities include processing loan applications, evaluating borrowers’ creditworthiness, approving or denying loans, and managing loan portfolios. Occasionally, Emily also provides IT support to the branch when the designated IT staff are unavailable, assisting with basic troubleshooting and software updates.

Analysis

Emily’s role is primarily focused on loan processing and credit evaluation, which are central to the operations of the credit union and are clearly covered by the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award. However, her occasional tasks of providing IT support fall outside the typical scope of the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award, as these activities might be more relevant to an IT or clerical role. Despite this overlap, Emily’s core responsibilities align closely with the classifications under the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award, ensuring that her position is covered by this award.

Steps to determine coverage

To ascertain whether an employee is covered by the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award, you may follow this systematic approach:

1. Identify responsibilities: Begin by documenting the primary responsibilities and daily tasks of the employee.
2. Compare with awards: Examine the definitions and classifications outlined in the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award, as well as any other relevant awards, to identify the best fit.
3. Predominant Function Test: Evaluate if the main duties of the employee’s role align with those typically covered by the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award.
4. Check exclusions: Review the exclusions listed in the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award to ensure the employee’s role isn’t covered by another specific award.
5. Review other employment agreements: Revisit any enterprise agreements or specific contracts that might influence award coverage.
6. Consult experts: If you’re uncertain about which award applies, it’s advisable to seek guidance from industrial relations or legal professionals.
7. Maintain thorough records: Document your analysis, the awards considered, any advice received, and the rationale for your final decision to ensure clarity and compliance.

Distinctions within Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award coverage

Understanding the nuances of the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award is essential for proper compliance. Here are three key distinctions that might surprise employers:

Inclusion of a wide range of financial services

The Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award covers a broad spectrum of services within the financial industry. This includes traditional banking, lending, providing credit, investment, finance, superannuation, and various forms of insurance. It also encompasses credit unions, building societies, financial intermediaries, trustee creditors and agencies, money market dealers, credit or charge card institutions, wool broking, agribusiness, and related services like broking, trading, debt recovery, financial consulting, valuation, money changing, data processing, transaction accounts, telephone inquiries, and transaction processing.

Employers might be surprised to find that this award covers such a wide array of financial services. This comprehensive coverage means that many niche roles within the financial sector are included under this award. Employers who do not recognise this broad scope may misclassify employees, leading to non-compliance with wage and condition requirements.

Coverage of wool broking and agribusiness

The inclusion of wool broking and agribusiness services within the scope of the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award is quite unique. These roles involve specific financial activities related to the agricultural sector, including broking, trading, and providing financial consulting services to farmers and agricultural businesses.

Employers might not expect roles associated with the agricultural sector, such as wool brokers and agribusiness financial consultants, to fall under a financial services award. This surprising inclusion means that businesses in these sectors must ensure they’re compliant with the award’s requirements, which could otherwise be overlooked, leading to potential compliance issues.

Specific exclusion of contract call centres

The award explicitly excludes contract call centres covered by the Contract Call Centres Award 2020. This distinction is significant because it clarifies that not all employees in the financial services sector are covered by the Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award. Financial sector employers operating call centres must ensure they’re referring to the correct award. Misunderstanding this exclusion can lead to applying the wrong award conditions, which can affect employee pay and working conditions.

Simplifying Banking, Finance, and Insurance Award coverage compliance with Rippling

Navigating the complexities of award coverage requires meticulous attention to ensure compliance and fair treatment of employees. Rippling’s comprehensive platform provides a powerful suite of tools to simplify and streamline your business's adherence to award coverage regulations. Key features include:

• Automated employee classification: Automatically classify employees according to the appropriate awards.
• Real-time compliance alerts: Stay updated with any changes in award coverage.
• Detailed reporting: Generate reports to ensure compliance and maintain accurate records.
• Custom templates: Use pre-built and customisable templates for various awards.
• Audit support: Access historical data and audit trails to support compliance audits.

Disclaimer: Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting, and legal advisors before engaging in any related activities or transactions.