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How the Sunday penalty rate changes will affect you

Weekend bar workers are among those affected by the changes.

Weekend bar workers are among those affected by the changes. Photo: Getty

If you flip burgers in a fast-food restaurant every Sunday you may be about to lose more than $860 a year, thanks to the latest penalty rate cuts coming into force this weekend.

Regular Sunday retail workers stand to lose even more than burger flippers – close to $1500 a year.

On July 1 – that’s this Sunday – the second round of the Turnbull government’s controversial penalty rate cuts will take effect, impacting workers in the retail, hospitality, pharmacy and fast food sectors.

Compared with the sweeping changes that came in last July – the first and biggest round of cuts – Sunday’s changes look small, and will only affect people who work on Sunday.

But still, for someone who relies on the higher rates of pay that come with working on Sunday, the cuts are significant.

The graphic below takes five jobs, and shows how big a dent the changes will make. They assume an eight-hour working day falling somewhere between the hours of 7am and 9pm, and a 52-week year.

Exactly who is affected?

The changes to the penalty rates affect just five of the 122 modern awards in Australia. However, they are awards that cover some very important industries that employ millions of people.

The awards in question are:

  • General Retail Industry Award
  • Fast Food Industry Award
  • Restaurant Industry Award
  • Pharmacy Industry Award
  • Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010

Sunday will bring in changes to all but the Restaurant Industry Award – changes to which all came in a year ago.

So if you work in the retail, fast food, pharmacy or hospitality industries, you could be facing a pay cut.

However, one important point to remember is that if your employer is covered by an enterprise bargaining agreement (EBA) then the change will not affect you.

An EBA is a legally binding agreement negotiated between a single employer and its employees, through a union. These override awards, which are intended to be a base to protect non-unionised workforces.

Coles and Woolworths, for example, are both subject to EBAs. So while they would in theory be covered by the General Retail Industry Award, thanks to the EBA they are not.

Hospitality Award

The Hospitality Industry Award covers, in a nutshell, hotels, bars and casinos. It also covers restaurants that are in hotels, bars and casinos, but not standalone restaurants.

On July 1, the penalty rate for working on a Sunday will fall from 170 per cent to to 160 per cent. That means for every dollar you would get Monday to Friday, you will now get $1.60 on Sunday.

That means the minimum wage on a Sunday will fall from $32.18 an hour to $30.29 an hour.

The Sunday penalty rate is due to fall again next year to 150 per cent, assuming Labor doesn’t win the next election and reverse the changes.

Pharmacy Award

The Pharmacy Industry Award covers, as the name suggests, pharmacies.

On July 1, the penalty rate 195 per cent of normal hourly wage falls to 180 per cent.

That means the minimum wage on a Sunday will fall from $40.54 to $37.52 per hour.

The Sunday penalty rate is due to fall again in July 2019 to 165 per cent, and to 150 per cent the year after.

Fast Food Award

On July 1, fast food industry Sunday penalty rates will fall from 145 per cent to 135 per cent.

That means the minimum wage on Sunday will fall from $30.15 an hour to $28.07.

The penalty will fall again to 125 per cent in July 2019.

Retail Award

Retail workers will see the Sunday penalty rates fall from 195 per cent to 180 per cent on July 1.

That means the Sunday minimum wage will fall from $40.54 an hour to $37.42 an hour.

The Sunday penalty rates will fall to 165 per cent in July 2019, and 150 per cent in July 2020.

If you want to find out more about how your industry is affected, the Fair Work Ombudsman has a very user-friendly website that can probably answer your question.

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