Plain English award move
September 4, 2015
The Fair Work Commission has
selected the Pharmacy Industry
Award for a pilot project aiming to
see how a modern industrial award
can be written in plain language.
Citing “the interest the Pharmacy
Guild has taken in this matter,” FWC
president Iain Ross said the PIA
2010 would form the basis of the
pilot, citing a recent statement by
the Full Bench of the commission
that “an award should be able to be
read by an employer or employee
without needing a history lesson or
paid advocate to interpret how it is to apply in the workplace”.
Guild executive director David
Quilty said the selection of the
Pharmacy Industry Award was a
significant development, which
would not have occurred if the
Guild had not submitted a plain
English draft in its original input to
the review of the award in April.
The pilot will see the Commission
engage an external expert in plain
language drafting to develop a
new version of the award, without
changing the substantive legal
effect of any award term.
“The use of plain language
makes the law, in this case the PIA,
directly relevant to those who are
affected by it - both employers and
employees,” Quilty said.
“It is vital that laws are
understandable for as many people
as possible,” he added.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 04 Sep 15To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 04 Sep 15
