Level 1 Employees under the Fast Food Award will see a reduction in Sunday penalty rates from 150% to 125% for full-time and part-time employees. Grumpy Motorist - February 24, 2017. Many businesses remain closed on Sunday, because opening is unprofitable. He aims to continue producing academic contributions that focus on social justice within the realm of work, both locally and abroad. A month after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described penalty rates as ‘out-dated’, the Productivity Commission recommended changes for workers in the entertainment, hospitality and […] This is because it all boils down to what people mean when they say “employment”. 20 Not, let’s be clear, the penalty rates received by paramedics, nurses or fire fighters. However, The Commission has stated that the immediate implementation of updated Sunday penalty rates would create undue financial distress for Sunday workers. Changes to Public Holiday Penalty Rates One student said: I have to say I’m most encouraged because of the money…I’m at a point where I rely on them to support my existence at the moment and I can only work very little because of study…and they rarely give me other days of work that I want. By. David Peetz is Professor of Employment Relations at Griffith University, where he has worked for eleven years. With the outcome of the decision expected to come into play later this year, it is crucial that business owners have the correct tools and processes in place to update changes to wage rates correctly, and better manage their labour costs to capitalise on the penalty rate reductions. Generally, this means the business is only open for a few hours on days that it does open. Many were unable to secure their preferred schedule, which would have involved working fewer Sundays. The FWC decision refers to “the fact that employees are exercising a choice, albeit one that is constrained by other considerations”. They choose to be working Sundays, and these choices have, until now, been overly influenced by the inflated pay rates applying on Sundays. Select your award from our interactive tool below to see a full summary of penalty rate changes. Penalty rates in the Restaurant, Hospitality, Pharmacy, Fast Food and Retail awards have been gradually changing since 2017. First, some background. Can I configure special provisions for shift workers? But their choices are constrained by several things affecting their availability. Weekend penalty rates … One of those with low control said: I was afraid my hours would get docked if I didn’t agree to work Sundays …. Most will require an employer to pay at least time and a half of the normal base wage for work performed on a Saturday and double time for employees who perform work on a Sunday. The landmark cuts to weekend penalty rates in several industries will be phased in over the next four years, in a decision that has angered retailers and unions alike. This was because of the loss of social, familial, rest or leisure time. Another was “really quite emotional sometimes” after missing time with her children because she felt compelled to “drag” herself “into work on occasional Sundays” in order to maintain living expenses or due to employer demands. How To Write An Effective Follow-Up Email After Meeting With Someone, How I switched careers to become a software engineer in 11 months (and how you can too). How does the engine handle RDOs or TOIL accrual? Her research has focused on several areas of sociology including networks of power, gender, work and sustainability. If passed, this legislation will see the maximum penalties for a company increase from $54,000 to $540,000, and maximum penalties for an individual increase from $10,800 to $108,000. Weekday Rate – Casual The problem for the Labour party and particularly Shorten, is how much this fight relies on support from the Union movement. Business owners therefore need to be proactive in their approach to compliance, to ensure that they are legally meeting their compliance requirements. It has been persuaded that there will be some “employment” effects, but these are unquantifiable due to the conflicting evidence presented. This may have added to those individuals’ sense of control. With thanks to Rob Corr Recently, there has been a rush of business lobby groups from the retail and hospitality sectors talking about the terrible evils of weekend penalty rates. On this page: what the changes mean for you; how to calculate your rates; the history of the changes. (The FWC decision cut Sunday penalty rates in the fast food industry by substantially more for what it saw as “non-career” than for “career” workers.) At a more practical level, the debate in Australia is concentrated on what to do about Sunday penalty rates which are paid at double time in some industries and whether to reduce those rates to be the same as Saturday rates. 16. Save. This is common in white collar workforces like accounting firms. Respondents’ aversion to Sunday work stemmed from the disruption to crucial shared time they would otherwise have had with family, partners and friends. This might come up if you run a very small business with only a few staff. And to the extent that this overestimates the “employment” gains, their losses would be even greater again. An Employment Type refers to the way someone is employed. As a result, many would be forced to work Sundays regardless of the change to payment structures. By the way… with Tanda’s Award Rule Engine, the answer to all those questions is yes! “I have to manage RDO or TOIL accruals and leave” It’s really just for simple weekend rates) Stay updated with the latest insights on frontline work, industry news, business templates, and other free resources. “I employ only one type of employee. Many respondents were convinced the incomes they were receiving were inadequate. Most award interpretation tools on the market can be used for Single Rate Calculation. What if they take it on the last day? A shift worker is a worker who is not a day worker. e-mail; 48. Fair Work Penalty Rates Decision Why Penalty Rates are Important Penalty rates have the biggest impact on workers in the service industries like hospitality, retail, aged care, child care and cleaning. Are staff pay rates automatically updated in the linked payroll system? I solely rely on my Saturday and Sunday penalty rates, in which I make the amount that I should be making without those rates, when considering the amount of work I actually do. Hourly Wage Calculators: Calculates when staff get paid a single hourly rate for all hours worked. Sunday Penalty Rates: What’s really happening? The other side of the debate (the right) believes the best path is to trust the power of the market to set labour rates, the argument is that the hardest workers will naturally attract the highest pay rates and encourage the labour force as a whole to be more productive. This includes full-time, part-time, casual or shiftworkers. There’s a lot of argument about the effects of cuts in penalty rates, or other regulated wages, on employment. 20 Some had positive perceptions that principally derived from their social cohesion at work — that is, they worked with close friends or partners. Not too long ago, specific pay rates for industries were regulated at a State, rather than a Federal level. For those coming in to work on January 28, a spate of new penalty rates will need to be respected for workers in the restaurant, hospitality, pharmacy, fast food and retail industries. Can I configure different pay rates for junior staff? Here’s some other things to keep an eye out for when comparing Award Rule Engines. The high rate of underemployment raises serious questions as to how useful a measure the unemployment rate is these days of labour market “slack”. His previous study was in the field of Psychological Science and he has recently completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Sociology with Honours, also at Griffith. He has been a consultant for the International Labour Organisation in Thailand, Malaysia and China, and undertaken work for unions, employers and governments of both political persuasions. So yeah … the money is my motivator! everyone is Full Time) then this might work for you. A summary of affected rates (including planned future increases) is provided below: evening hours (after 6pm on monday to friday) From 1 October 2019: 10% increase for casual employees: A good template will include all of the base rates for different levels of staff (each employee will have a minimum wage and the template should include this). This is the biggest Industrial Relations decision The Fair Work Commission has made in recent years. Does the system automatically update them on birthdays? Accessorial liability has been one of the preferred tools wielded by Fair Work recently, as it focuses on looking past the principal company to further down the supply and managerial chain. Public holiday rates for full-time workers in hospitality will be reduced from 250% to 225%, with no change for casual Public Holiday penalty rates. No changes will be made to Sunday penalty rates for Level 2 and Level 3 Employees under the Award. The decision was handed down after more than eight months of deliberation, and comes after The Productivity Commission recommended bringing Sunday penalty rates into line with Saturday rates in 2015. This was, in fact, a point acknowledged by the FWC. Not only the ABS data, but also our interviews showed that underemployment was common. The Bill intends to increase the maximum penalties for those found breaching the Fair Work Act. Here is how Fair Work’s Pay Rate Calculator says you should have paid: How is overtime calculated if an employee takes leave midway through the pay period? In short, the employment effects of the FWC decision, to the extent that they exist, are very unlikely to offset the significant problems we already see, through our research, with Sunday work in retail and hospitality: low wages, underemployment, low employee control, and the “disutilities” of spending time away from friends and families. I am trained on tills, floor, cosmetics and as a pharmacy assistant and yet I only make $11.50? It’s called a rule engine because it’s based on different payroll rules that you configure, allowing you to pay staff at different rates across the week. August 26, 2017 — 11.18pm. Fines will be imposed for each offence, and could potentially see businesses facing over $1 million in penalties, for breaching the Fair Work Act. Salary Costing Tools: Used to calculate payroll when all your staff are paid a fixed salary. One side of the debate (the left) believes that the Government should regulate labour markets to ensure that the most vulnerable workers in our society are protected against greedy employers, and this will lead to a long term more equitable society. The move to shift powers of overall rate-setting to the confines of Canberra means that this debate is now being played out on the national stage. The push for maintaining the weekend penalty rate are both a family and a a trade unions thing! So many are in no position to exercise genuine choice over working on Sundays. Scott Bruynius is a PhD candidate within the School of Government and Business at Griffith University, and currently undertaking research in Employment Relations. Implicit in the idea that the “disutilities” of Sunday work are less than they were, and explicit in some of the employer evidence, is the notion that Sunday workers in retail and hospitality have choice as to when they work. Hopefully, this post has helped clear some confusion around the types of tools that exist in the market and what you can use depending on how your workforce is set up. What are the motivations of, and choices available to weekend workers in retail and hospitality in Australia? But at this lower pay rate, they’d need to work 33% more hours to keep their Sunday income. As soon as the debate shifts to penalty rates, Turnbull runs the risk of resurfacing some of the toxic politics from the WorkChoices legislation. Single Rate Calculators: Pays staff only single types of pay like weekday, Saturday and Sunday rates. Of course the debate over penalty and overtime rates is a matter currently under review in the Modern Awards with a push by employer groups to limit the application of weekend penalties to a blanket 25% in the light of 7 day trading. Why do these only work for one employment type? Losses of penalty rates would lead to losses of income for many low-income, non-students — as well as for students — with little power to respond. Casuals will have a reduction from 175% to 150%. It pisses me off because I know they can put more of us on full-time but like having us starved of hours so we’ll work whenever. In the retail and hospitality industries alone, over 1.1 million workers regularly work on weekends. Sunday work, however, was seen as the way to “boost the coffers”. Georgina Murray is associate professor in Humanities at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, in the Centre for Work, Organization and Wellbeing. Full time and part-time retail workers will have Sunday penalty rates reduced from 200% to 150%. Can you configure how long a shift must be “split” before this kicks in? As such transitional arrangements for Sunday penalty rate changes will be made in the coming months. Just for specific employees? If this is you, you’re in luck – you will not need an additional system for award interpretation! Most are not really sure which award interpretation tool is right for their business. Sometimes time and a half and sometimes double time are agreed to or offered but there is nothing in law requiring employers to pay extra per hour. We often chat to people who have looked at a few different award interpretation tools on the market. So we wanted to investigate several questions about this. Saturday Rate – Full Time Weekday Rate – Full Time You enter the multiplier for Saturday and Sunday shifts. If everyone you employ is the same employment type (e.g. They were virtually incapable of working other times that would combine to create the same income they derived from Sunday work and were admittedly relying upon penalties to meet living expenses. On the one hand, it is undoubtedly less attractive for many of them. Weekend Penalty Rates. Casuals will have a reduction from 175% to 150%. (JL, part-time student and casual retail). … Changes to Public Holiday rates will come into effect July 1, 2017. Please check your email to confirm your subscription. After all, that is what appeared to motivate the FWC’s decision. Share on Facebook. However, be careful because this only works if you have a single employment type. When you enter a timesheet the system pays staff at the appropriate rate based on the days worked only. 5 ways to make money educating online. If you only employ salaried staff, a Salary Costing Tool is perfect for you. The change increases some penalty rates for casual employees in relation to evening work and Saturday work. I have looked around but without luck…it’s difficult to find the time to between work and Uni as they are. But wouldn’t that be offset by the gains in employment? A really good template will automatically keep your payroll software up to date based on Fair Work Award updates. Arguments against reducing Sunday penalty rates The dramatic cut to penalty rates last year - predicted by the Fair Work Commission to boost jobs - was instead followed by a decline in Sunday shifts worked by employees in … Several factors seemed to have influenced the FWC’s decision. So, if they get the chance, then almost all additional hours made available on Sundays in existing workplaces would be taken up by existing workers. McDonald's defends not paying weekend penalty rates and shoppies union wage deal. They acted to mitigate the negative effects of their predominantly involuntary Sunday employment. Changes to Public Holiday rates will come into effect July 1, 2017. One said: I work Sundays for the pay, it massively helps me manage all my living expenses…but it is a bit of downer sometimes knowing you’re stranded inside doing shit jobs whilst all your friends are at a barbeque or random gathering (TS, 20, casual hospitality worker). When using a Single Rate Award Calculator, you enter the hourly rate that each employee gets during the week. Can I configure specific Public Holiday dates for each employee (important if you have  multiple sites with different Show Holidays or Regional Public Holidays). Fair Work has strict compliance guidelines and regulations regarding pay rates, payslip laws and staff leave entitlements. Fair Work recently imposed a $143,000 penalty against a Brisbane Business Owner and his former internal Payroll and Account Manager, after it was uncovered that they had deliberately underpaid […], 2 March 2017    |    Events & Media AU    |. And even then they would be unambiguously worse off, working more hours for less total income. A desire for more Saturday work and for less Sunday work was quite common amongst our interviewees. (LJ, 31, casual retail worker and student). Overall, we concluded that the majority of retail employees who would be affected by changes to weekend penalty rates are not students. The qualitative interviews revealed some other aspects of Sunday work. Based on the times or days that they work? If they only get 12.5% more hours, they’ll be 16% worse off in total Sunday pay. Don’t Become Recluse When You Work From Home, Stuck at home? Saturday Rate – Casual (1.75x) Firstly, an Award Interpreter (read about Tanda’s Award Interpreter) is software that figures out how much staff should be getting paid based on their hours and times worked. In addition, they also calculate overtime, penalty rates, allowances, accruals and leave. The third aspect of Sunday work uncovered by these interviews was the difficulty of working on Sundays. Base Rate – Casual (1.25x) Underemployment — people wanting to work more hours than they presently work — is common amongst part-time workers. It is hoped that reducing penalty rates will bring  about more ‘positive employment effects’ for businesses, and will “lead to increased trading hours, an increase in the level and range of services offered on Sundays and Public Holidays and an increase in overall hours worked.” She lectures in political economy. Penal rates are rates agreed to between an employer and an employee and are a greater hourly rate than that paid during the 'normal' working week of 40 hours. Penalty rates changes. From the ABS data we can see that retailing accounts for 22% of employees usually or sometimes working on Saturdays, and 20% of employees usually or sometimes working on Sundays. Which meant for instance, Sunday rates for retail workers plummeted from 200% to just 150% and public holiday rates for hospo workers were cut from 250% to 225%. Base Rate – Full Time (1x) Then a 25% cut in Sunday penalty rates (which is what part-time workers in retail experienced) would lead to a 12.5% increase in employment … Weekend penalty rates are higher pay rates for employees who perform work on the weekend. How Should We Respond to Workplace Change? "With 15 per cent unemployment staring us down the barrel of the gun, the first priority is to get people back into work," he said. Eight employees reported they had “little control” of their employment schedule. Said one: I’ve been on this dodgy contract now for over six months and they knew I wanted to go on full-time when I started and made it seem like that would be possible…so I stuck around. The debate on penalty rates cuts straight to the bone of modern political disagreement and draws a line straight down one of the most fundamental differentiators of right wing vs. left wing economics. Advocates of the rate cut argue that although some employees would see less money in their take-home pay packet, the overall result will be lower unemployment; not only because more business will trade on Sunday, but because many businesses will choose to increase their service levels (by employing more people) when margins aren’t quite so slim. The interviewees included: two full-time workers and 13 casuals; was evenly split by gender (seven males and eight females); included eight students; included two workers with dependants; with an even split also between retail (seven) and hospitality (eight); and covered workers ranging in age from 20 to 38 years old. Amongst those working on Saturdays and Sundays in retail trade, students are disproportionately found amongst casuals. This table shows how a Single Rate Award Calculator would calculate the cost of two shifts. The answer is, “not really”. Are you able to configure accrual for arbitrary leave types? Most payroll systems (including MYOB and Xero) already include such a tool. The argument goes that a reduction in cost of employment on Sundays will simultaneously lift productivity and improve unemployment rates in Australia. If you’ve got any further questions, feel free to email us on info@tanda.co. Three were under the impression they exercised control over their schedule. This is where nobody works on weekends, receives overtime or penalty rates. It’s not the same as the number of “jobs”. (It also doesn’t work if you have to pay overtime, penalty rates, deal with leave or accruals. “All my staff get paid a salary.” Also, Public Holidays, if the calculator supports it. But there is still a substantial minority of Saturday casuals who are not students and who are dependent on the money. They receive weekday and weekend rates only.” The recent spate of Fair Work crackdowns has increased concern for small business owners, as the severity and prevalence of non-compliance and underpayment continues to increase. Sunday penalty rates for full time and part time hospitality workers will be reduced from 175% to 150%, rates for casuals will remain the same at 175%. Employees often get a higher pay rate when working: 1. weekends 2. public holidays 3. overtime 4. late nights shifts or 5. early morning shifts. Saturday Rate – Full Time (1.5x) In most awards, you’re meant to apply the 1.5 multiplier and then the 25% casual loading! Some Award Rule Engines also come with pre-built sets of rules called Templates. If you you have a Full Time employee (base $20/hour), and a Casual employee (base $20/hour + 25% casual loading = $25/hour). Award Rule Engines: Does all of the above. Can the engine pay the correct allowances for split shifts? As such transitional arrangements for Sunday penalty rate changes will be made in the coming months. Public Service Announcement: Fair Work Crackdown. No changes will be made to Sunday penalty rates for Level 2 and Level 3 Employees under the Award. Many workers on penalty rates … Amongst our interviewees, four workers were seeking full-time employment. Three students that reportedly exercised control over their schedule, and who perceived Sunday work as “kinda like any other day” (AC, casual hospitality worker), also had their availability largely curtailed through their studies. the fact that employees are exercising a choice, albeit one that is constrained by other considerations, Not Spotting a Narcissist in a Business Relationship May Cost You a Fortune. What are employees’ preferences, and why? Systems that treat all time as ordinary can end up costing you a lot more in labour costs – and staff won’t complain if you get that wrong!) To do this, we first analysed data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), using the Forms of Employment survey over the 2011–13 period. Her current projects include an Australia-wide survey on mineworker wellbeing, research on the top one per cent, and a study of finance capital and sustainability. Of these, three were already holding down multiple jobs. Four had “some control” (mostly these were students). On Thursday the Fair Work Commission (FWC) cut penalty rates for Sunday and pubic holiday work for a wide rage of workers in retailing, hospitality and fast food, as well as rates for some night and early morning work for workers in fast food. Labor leader Bill Shorten needs to make call on weekend penalty rates AS A former union leader, it should be Bill Shorten’s bread and butter. The majority of retail employees who would be affected by changes to weekend penalty rates are not students — even though a significant minority are students. ... How do other countries view the weekend? or that I would slip to the back of the boss’s list of who gets called up first for the hours. Can I calculate overtime based on an employee working outside their rostered hours? However, if you have multiple employment types, or other more complex pay requirements (eg. However, it cannot handle any of the more common rate scenarios set out in Awards. Fair Work recently imposed a $143,000 penalty against a Brisbane Business Owner and his former internal Payroll and Account Manager, after it was uncovered that they had deliberately underpaid staff at a Japanese food outlet. accommodation and food services) industries. Amongst the weekend workers who we interviewed, all were generally averse to working on Sundays one way or another. Using an Hourly Wage Calculator, you enter the hourly rate for each employee. Warning: Be careful with this one. Do they pay penalty rates? 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