Wet weather provisions in construction awards

Under Australia’s main on-site construction award, workers who lose ordinary hours because inclement weather stops work are generally paid at their ordinary hourly rate, using a credit of up to 32 hours in each 4-week period.

That sounds simple. In payroll, it can get messy. You need the right award, the correct hourly rate, an accurate wet weather balance and records showing why work stopped.

What counts as wet weather?

The Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020 uses the broader term “inclement weather”. It is not limited to rain.

Inclement weather can include rain, hail, extreme cold, high wind, severe dust storms, extreme heat or similar conditions. The key question is whether it is unreasonable or unsafe for employees exposed to those conditions to continue working.

A shower does not automatically mean everyone goes home on pay. The conditions must prevent the employee from safely or reasonably performing their work.

The effect can also vary around the site. A crane crew may have to stop because of high winds while employees working safely inside continue. After rain, excavation or roofing work may remain unsafe even though the sky has cleared.

The employer should confer with affected employees, or their representative, about whether work can continue. A weather app is useful evidence, but it does not make the decision by itself.

The main numbers payroll needs

For employees covered by the Building and Construction General On-site Award, the paid inclement weather credit is the starting point.

As at October 2026:

• Up to 32 ordinary hours may be paid for time lost to inclement weather in each 4-week period.
• The employee’s accumulated credit is capped at 32 hours. It is not an unlimited bank of paid leave.
• Award minimum rates applying from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2026 must be used when calculating the employee’s ordinary hourly rate.
• Payroll and time records generally need to be kept for 7 years.
• A payslip must generally be issued within 1 working day of payday.

The 32-hour credit deals with ordinary working time lost. It does not guarantee payment for overtime that an employee expected to work.

If you are checking classifications and current rates, use the award rate checker. Our construction awards hub also explains how classifications, allowances and penalty rates fit together.

How the credit works

Think of the credit as a payroll balance, not personal leave.

When ordinary time is lost because qualifying inclement weather stops work, the lost hours are deducted from the employee’s available credit. Payroll pays those hours at the ordinary hourly rate required by the award.

Unused hours may carry into the next 4-week period, but the balance cannot grow beyond 32 hours. You therefore need a defined cycle for each employee or work group. Do not treat the cycle as a calendar month. Four weeks and one calendar month are not the same thing.

For example, say an employee has a 32-hour balance. They are sent home after working 3 hours of a rostered 7.6-hour day. If the remaining time qualifies, payroll records 3 hours worked and 4.6 paid inclement weather hours. Their balance falls to 27.4 hours.

If another 30 ordinary hours are later lost before the credit refreshes, only the available 27.4 hours are payable under this provision. Before withholding the remainder, check whether an enterprise agreement, employment contract or site arrangement provides something more generous.

Common situations and payroll treatment

Situation	Usual treatment under the Building Award	Wet weather credit used?
Employee keeps doing normal work safely	Pay hours worked in the usual way	No
Employee moves to suitable alternative duties	Pay hours worked under the applicable award rules	No
Employer sends the employee home during ordinary hours because work cannot continue	Pay qualifying ordinary time lost, subject to the available balance	Yes
Planned overtime is cancelled before it starts	No inclement weather payment for the unworked overtime	No
Rain falls on a rostered day off	No ordinary hours were lost	No
Employee is absent without reasonable cause immediately before or after the stoppage	Entitlement may be affected, so check the award facts before paying	Possibly

Alternative duties might include protected work elsewhere on the site, clean-up tasks, maintenance, training or work at another location. The work still needs to be safe, suitable and allowed by the employee’s classification.

Do not debit the balance merely because it rained. Debit it only when the employee loses qualifying ordinary hours and receives inclement weather payment.

Which hourly rate should be paid?

The award refers to the employee’s ordinary hourly rate. That may be more than the bare classification rate.

Some award allowances are all-purpose. When an allowance is all-purpose, it forms part of the rate used for certain award calculations. Other reimbursements or expense-related allowances do not.

Check these items before processing the payment:

1. The employee’s award and classification.
2. The minimum rate applying from the correct full pay period.
3. Any applicable all-purpose allowances.
4. Whether an enterprise agreement sets a higher rate or different wet weather rule.
5. Whether the lost time was ordinary time rather than overtime.

Avoid coding the payment as annual leave, personal leave or unpaid leave. Inclement weather credit is a separate award entitlement. A clear pay code such as “paid inclement weather” makes the payslip and audit trail easier to follow.

Not every construction worker has the same rule

The Building and Construction General On-site Award covers many workers performing on-site building, civil construction and general construction work. It does not cover every person who steps onto a construction site.

Electricians, plumbers, fire sprinkler fitters, manufacturing employees, security workers and office staff may be covered by different awards. Those awards can have different definitions, payment rules and consultation requirements.

An enterprise agreement can also contain its own inclement weather clause. If it applies, payroll should follow that instrument rather than automatically importing the Building Award’s 32-hour system.

Classification comes first. Site custom comes second. “That is how this project has always done it” is not enough if the applicable award or agreement says otherwise.

Records that make wet weather payroll defensible

Keep enough information to show what happened. A simple record should include:

• the date and site;
• when the weather or unsafe condition started and ended;
• which work areas and employees were affected;
• ordinary hours worked before the stoppage;
• alternative duties offered or performed;
• the time employees were directed to leave;
• paid inclement weather hours;
• each employee’s opening and closing credit; and
• who authorised the decision.

Site diaries, supervisor notes, time records and weather observations should agree. If one system says the worker left at 11:00am and another says 1:30pm, payroll should clear that up before finalising the pay run.

Mistakes worth avoiding

The first common mistake is paying everyone whenever rain appears on the radar. The second is the opposite, sending workers home without checking whether paid inclement weather credit applies.

Other traps include using a monthly balance instead of a 4-week cycle, deducting annual leave without agreement, paying only the base classification rate, and letting the credit accumulate beyond 32 hours.

Also watch for blanket site declarations. Conditions may stop external work without affecting protected areas. Record the decision by crew, task or location where necessary.

A clean process is straightforward. Confirm coverage, assess whether the conditions prevent work, look for safe alternative duties, record the direction, then pay qualifying lost ordinary hours from the available credit.