It’s July 1, 2025 and the new award rate is no in force.
There is no excuse for employers missing this or the increase to the percentage of pay employers must contribute to superannuation to 12%.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has all the details at their website.
Now is a good time to check on other aspects of the award and your engagement with it such as employee classifications. Ensure your people are classified correctly. Also, if you require staff to wear a uniform, this is to be provided at your cost and there is a requirement for a weekly cost re cleaning of the uniform. It’s all there in the award.
If you are an employee and you feel you may not be being paid correctly, ask your employer. If you are unhappy with the response and consider you are being underpaid, click this link to get to advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman.
If you are an employee and you think the superannuation contributions from your employer are incorrect and you have been unable to resolve this, click here to go straight to the ATO website for their recommended action.
It’s never easy to talk about pay, for everyone involved. No matter how you approach it, the matter comes down to the facts. That’s the best place to start. If it’s an award discussion, start with the facts in the award. The Retail Award is straightforward. Print it, mark it upon, speak to it when raising any concern.
To employers who under rate employees via a lower than appropriate classification, look at the difference. Between 3 and 5, for example, it’s $2 an hour. A good employee with the right support from the business can easily cover this difference. The key to this is them understanding the needs of the business and how their actions can serve these while serving their own personal needs.
I have seen too many employees let underpayment slide in the hope it will be resolved. This is a mistake. If it’s wrong and it is not addressed, report it.
Whether we like it or not, all newsagents are bundled together in the collective Australian mind. If one underpays staff, does not pay penalty rates or fails to pay superannuation correctly, we are all judged to behave similarly. This is why I think if any of us is aware another is deliberately misbehaving, we should report them.
My boss made us pay for our uniform and refused to pay for cleaning. In a small town where everyone knows everyone it was hard so I went along with it. He still has the shop and when I go back I quietly tell his staff if I get a chance. What he’s doing is so wrong.
On the mid north coast of NSW is where the authorities should be investigating. I had to pay for my uniform and clean it and on Sundays it was regular pay paid as cash. He said the tax I saved made it better than penalty rates.
Jess and C – report those responsible to Fair Work and to the Tax Office.