EBA clauses
EBA minimum weekly super, configuration guide.
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The clause
What is EBA minimum weekly super?
It is a flat weekly amount that must reach the worker's fund, often CBUS, no matter how many hours were worked that week. You see it in CFMEU-pattern agreements and in Greenfields agreements written for a single project.
A dollar figure, not a rate
The agreement names an amount per week per worker. Two hours worked, forty hours worked, the floor is the same.It sits over the top of the SG rate
Percentage super still applies. The minimum only bites in short weeks, which is exactly when nobody is watching.
The failure
Why does generic payroll get it wrong?
Payroll engines calculate super as a percentage of earnings. A flat weekly minimum is not a percentage of anything, so there is nowhere to put it. Short weeks get underpaid unless someone manually tops up every affected worker, every pay run, forever.
One rain week on a 60-person site can mean 60 manual top-ups, each one a chance to miss a worker.
The fix
What to configure in Employment Hero
The Employment Hero configuration needs to compare percentage super with the agreement minimum and account for any required adjustment. We help review and test that setup. Your payroll team reviews the result and handles contributions.
Checking super against the EBA minimum…
Higher of the two, always
Test the Employment Hero result against both the percentage and the weekly floor.Redundancy funds too
Review redundancy fund clauses separately, including Incolink, BERT and CIPQ where the agreement sets a weekly figure.
Comparison
Which approach survives an audit?
Manual top-ups
- Accuracy risk
- High, depends on someone remembering every short week
- Admin time per pay run
- 20 to 90 minutes, more after wet weather
- Audit trail
- Ad hoc notes, no record of what was compared
0% super workarounds with spreadsheets
- Accuracy risk
- Very high, super is calculated outside the pay engine
- Admin time per pay run
- An hour or more, plus reconciliation
- Audit trail
- A spreadsheet nobody can reproduce twelve months later
Employment Hero configuration review
- Accuracy risk
- Test the configured comparison against each applicable clause
- Admin time per pay run
- Payroll team review remains necessary
- Audit trail
- Document the clause, minimum, comparison and configuration
| Approach | Accuracy risk | Admin time per pay run | Audit trail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual top-ups | High, depends on someone remembering every short week | 20 to 90 minutes, more after wet weather | Ad hoc notes, no record of what was compared |
| 0% super workarounds with spreadsheets | Very high, super is calculated outside the pay engine | An hour or more, plus reconciliation | A spreadsheet nobody can reproduce twelve months later |
| Employment Hero configuration review | Test the configured comparison against each applicable clause | Payroll team review remains necessary | Document the clause, minimum, comparison and configuration |
Exposure
What it means for wage theft exposure
Systematic underpayment of super under an EBA is underpayment. Since 1 January 2025, criminal provisions apply to intentional underpayment of wages and entitlements in Australia. "We meant to top it up" is a weak answer. A repeatable automated control beats memory, and it produces the record you need if anyone asks.
Minimum super questions
Does the payslip show one super amount?
Yes. The top-up is folded into the pay run, so the worker sees a single super figure for the period, not a percentage line and a correction line.
Does it work with CBUS?
Yes, and it is fund-agnostic. The minimum applies to whichever fund the agreement names, and the same logic runs for every worker in the pay run.
What if the EBA minimum increases mid-agreement?
The rate schedule is stored with effective dates, so the new minimum applies from the day it starts. Nobody has to remember the date.
Is this included in the EBA build?
We can review minimum weekly super as part of your EBA configuration. Contact us to scope the consulting work.Custom quote, book a call
Reviewed August 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Your agreement
Does your EBA have this clause?
Send us your agreement and we will review how its clauses should be configured in Employment Hero.
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