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What is Broken shift?

A broken shift is a shift split into two or three separate periods of work in one day, with unpaid breaks between them. Under the SCHADS Award a broken shift attracts an allowance, and the number of breaks determines which allowance applies. It is common in disability support, where morning and evening routines sit hours apart.

The award distinguishes a broken shift with one unpaid break from one with two, and pays a higher allowance for the latter. There are limits on the span of the overall shift and on how the periods may be arranged.

Broken shifts are frequently missed in payroll because each period looks like an ordinary short shift in isolation. The allowance only becomes visible when the day is assessed as a whole.

Related terms

SCHADS AwardThe SCHADS Award is the modern award covering most Australian disability and community services employees. It sets minimum pay rates by classification level, and the rules for penalties, overtime, broken shifts, sleepovers, on-call, travel reimbursement and minimum engagement periods. Compliance is a legal obligation, not a payroll preference.Minimum engagementMinimum engagement is the shortest period an employee must be paid for when called to work, regardless of how long the shift actually runs. Under the SCHADS Award, disability support workers generally have a two-hour minimum for part-time and casual engagements, with some exceptions for particular arrangements.SleepoverA sleepover is an arrangement where a support worker stays overnight at a participant’s home to be available if needed, and is permitted to sleep. Under the SCHADS Award it attracts a flat sleepover allowance rather than hourly pay, plus payment at the appropriate rate for any period the worker is actually woken to work.

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