Retail, fast food, pharmacy and hospitality workers face penalty rate pay cuts for working on a Sunday following a Fair Work Commission ruling made on Thursday.
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The penalty rate cut will come into effect in July and will see some Sunday rates reduced from 200 per cent or “double time” to 150 per cent or “time and a half”.
However, staff at Sportspower Orange will see an increase in shifts.
Sportspower Orange co-owner David Russell runs the shop with his wife Rhonda and said due to penalty rates they were the only ones working on a Sunday but with reduced rates they would have more flexibility and be able to employ staff to work.
He said the reduction from 200 per cent to 150 per cent for full-time or part-time workers or from 200 per cent down to 175 per cent for casual workers was the same as Saturday retail penalty rates.
“It’s too expensive to get the staff to work now, it would give us more ability to give shifts for them to work and not work ourselves,” Mr Russell said.
He said one of the issues with he and Rhonda working every Sunday was that suppliers only worked weekdays so they sometimes have to come in on their days off to meet suppliers or attend conferences.
Under the changes, hospitality workers also face a reduction in Sunday pay from 175 per cent to 150 per cent but casual worker’s pay will remain unchanged.
Full-time and part-time fast-food workers’ Sunday rates will go from 150 per cent to 125 per cent and casuals will go from 200 per cent to 175 per cent.
Full-time and part-time hospitality and retail workers will also have holiday pay rates reduced from 250 per cent to 225 per cent.
Central NSW Business Enterprise Centre executive officer Bruce Buchanan said the changes were expected and there are positive and negative aspects to the issue.
“I think the main advantage of this particular decision is there are some businesses that have decided not to open on those days or have opened limited hours,” Mr Buchanan said.
“For those small business they will welcome this.
“We expect to go shopping seven days a week so obviously the award rate should reflect that.”
However, he said while more businesses would be able to open on a Sunday or open longer, there will be drawbacks.
“They might find difficulty to find staff because they are not offering the same rate of pay,” Mr Buchanan said.
“I think everybody acknowledges that times are fairly tough at the moment we’ve got to look at the number of retail outlets that are struggling, we’ve got to look at an award that will provide jobs in the future.”
Tanya Marschke
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
I am based at Orange and cover a wide range of subjects as well as the weekly business column. I've worked consistently in the the media industry since 2006 including the past seven years at the Central Western Daily. Before moving to Orange, I worked as a journalist at weekly newspapers the Beaudesert Times and the Gold Coast Sun in Queensland, as well as the Scone Advocate in the Hunter Valley. I started my career at the Ridge News in Lightning Ridge while I completed my journalism studies remotely at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
