---
title: "Modern Awards"
slug: "modern-awards-1"
description: "Learn about modern award rates in Marlin HR payroll software for mechanical workshops, by Megabus,"
updated: 2026-04-13T02:03:55Z
published: 2026-04-13T02:03:55Z
canonical: "help.megabus.com.au/modern-awards-1"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.megabus.com.au/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Modern Awards

****Marlin HR**** enables the selection of a Modern Award, Classification and associated penalty rates for employees.

A **Modern Award Classification** can be assigned to each employee in Employee Maintenance.

HR **does not enforce award rates** or overwrite the pay rate currently set up for the employee.

The **[Pay Run Initialisation](/hr/docs/modern-awards#pay-run-indicators)** screen includes indicators for each employee, showing whether their currently applied rate is above or below the award rate.

Note

The Modern Awards file must be **selected before** award details can be applied to employees.

## Updating Modern Awards

**To view and edit Modern Awards:**

- Select **System > Options > Employee Defaults** from the menu bar
- Click on the **Employee Defaults** tab at the top

The **Modern Awards** section is located at the bottom, showing the selected award and the date it was last updated are shown.

**To change the Modern Awards file:**

- Click **Select**

In the **Select Modern Award** pop-up that opens:

- Select the **Modern Award**
- Click **Ok**

Once installed, the details will be updated in the **Modern Award** section.

> how is the award file added? do we add it to the system? Why not just auto-update it?

## Assigning Awards to Employees

**To assign a Modern Award to an employee:**

- Open their **[Employee Maintenance](/hr/docs/employee-maintenance)** file in **Edit** mode  

(Main > Employee Maintenance)
- Click on the **General** tab at the top

In the **Modern Awards** section on the left:

- Use the **Award** picker to select the applicable award
- Click on the **Classification** picker:

In the **Select Classification** pop-up that opens:

- Select a **classification**
  - **Penalty rate** details are shown in the section at the bottom
- Click **Select**

Once selected, the associated **penalty rates** will be shown in the Modern Awards section.

Warning

These Award Rates are **not enforced** and will not overwrite any pay rates currently set up for the employee.

This is because you might already be **paying above award rates**, or **processing backdated pay runs** before the latest rates took effect.

The **[Pay Run Initialisation](/hr/docs/modern-awards#pay-run-indicators)** screen displays an indicator for each employee, showing whether their currently applied rate meets the Award rate.

## Pay Run Indicators

The Pay Run Initialisation screen shows an **Award** indicator for each employee:

- **Green tick:** Applied pay rate is at or above the award rate
- **Red cross:** Applied pay rate is below the award rate
- **Blank:** No award assigned

Note

HR does not enforce award rates and will not overwrite any pay rates set up in the **Pay Details** tab of Employee Maintenance files.

Tip

Hover over the Award indicators to see the difference between an employee's pay rate and the assigned award.

**Edit** button

![](https://cdn.document360.io/d7282b31-60c4-41e6-bf87-3f684d4da049/Images/Glossary/image-1705889838140.png)

Shortcut: **F2**