General Retail Industry Award Guide
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This blog is a complete summary of the General Retail Industry Award, covering all main pay categories that determine the calculation of pay. The full version of the award can be found here.
Table of contents:
- Coverage
- Key Takeaways
- Hours of Work
- Shift Work
- Breaks
- Minimum rates
- Overtime rates
- Penalty rates (non shift workers)
- Penalty rates (shift workers other than baking employees)
- Allowances
- Junior employees
- Annual leave
- Public holidays
- Recent changes to award
Coverage:
The General Retail Industry Award covers employers and employees in the general retail industry throughout Australia.
This includes business such as :
- Retailers (supermarkets or grocery stores)
- Department stores
- Bakeries (food is baked and sold on premises)
- Furniture, household appliances, recreational goods stores
- Retail travel agencies
- Retail poultry stores
- Newsagents
- Clerical work in retail stores
Key Takeaways:
- Clause 15.4 and 15.5 - A maximum of 9 ordinary hours can be worked on a day, but employees can work a maximum of 11 ordinary hours one day a week
- Clause 10.9 and 11.2 - The minimum daily engagement for part-time and casual employees is 3 hours (except secondary school students who are casuals may have a minimum daily engagement of 1.5 hours).
- The 1.5hr minimum engagement rule applies when a full-time secondary school student:
- is engaged to work between 3pm and 6.30pm on a school attendance day; and
- the employee’s parents/guardian agree to less than 3 hours of work;
- and longer employment is not possible due to operational needs or unavailability of the employee
- Clause 15.7 - The maximum number of consecutive days that can be worked is 6 (this includes both ordinary and additional hours)
- Clause 15.7 - Employees must be rostered to work so that they have 2 consecutive days off per week or 3 consecutive days off per 2 week cycle
- Clause 15.8 - Employees who regularly work Sundays must be rostered so that they have 3 consecutive days off (including Saturday and Sunday) per 4 week cycle
- Clause 15.6 - Full-time employees who work in an establishment with at least 15 employees on a regular basis, can be rostered for a maximum of 19 days in a 4 week cycle.
Hours of Work:
*Ordinary hours differ for employees in a newsagency from 5:00am, videoshop until midnight and until 11:00pm if establishment trading hours are extended beyond 9pm Monday - Friday or 6pm on Saturday/Sunday.
Shift work (Other than baking employees):
Breaks:
Rest period (break between shifts): Minimum of 12 hours between work one day and work the next day, otherwise paid at 200% until a 12 hour break is had.
* One rest break to be taken first half of shift, one rest break taken second half of shift
Minimum rates:
Overtime rates:
Penalty rates (Non shift workers):
Penalty rates (Shiftworkers other than baking employees):
Allowances:
Junior Employees:
Adult rates are paid when an employee is 21 years of age or older, or when an employee is 20 years old and employed by the employer for more than 6 months.
A junior employee who is classified as a retail level employee level 1, 2 and 3 is paid the following minimum percentage :
Annual leave:
Annual leave is available for full-time and part-time employees. It does not apply to casual employees. Annual leave is provided for in the NES.
Public holidays:
Public holiday entitlements are provided for in the NES. Employees who work on a public holiday are entitled to an extra penalty rate on top of their minimum rate.
Recent Changes to Award:
- From 1 February 2023, all employees (including casuals) of non-small business employers can access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12 month period.
- From 1 August 2023, all employees (including casuals) of small business employers can access 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave in a 12 month period.
- If an employee starts work again without having had 12 hours off work, the employer must pay the employee for each hour worked at the rate of 200% of the employee’s minimum hourly rate until the employee has a break of 12 consecutive hours
- Part-time employees receive payment for overtime for work performed outside the span of ordinary hours, the overtime entitlement previously applied only to excess hours worked of the guaranteed part-time arrangement.
- Employer is able to roster an employee to work 6 days in one week provided that no more than 4 days is worked in the other week within the two-week cycle.
Disclaimer
Please note: The information contained in this Modern Award Interpretation Guide is sourced from the PaidRight knowledge database which is general in nature and does not constitute or is intended to be relied upon as legal advice or other professional opinion. The contents of this guide is subject to variation(s) to the General Retail Industry Award by Fair Work Commission decision or enactment of amended legislation. PaidRight does neither accept responsibility or provide guarantee or warranty (express or implied) regarding the accuracy, reliability or completeness; and, to the extent permitted by law, PaidRight does not accept legal liability for consequences arising out of use of this information. The information recipient is advised to obtain professional legal advice relevant to your specific circumstances. Information updated as at 23 June 2024.
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