Penalty Rates in Australia: What Are They and How Are They Calculated?

Author: Zeinab Farhat, Progressive Legal

If you are an employee or business owner in Australia, it is important to understand the definitions and technicalities of penalty rates. If you work on the weekends, you will likely have noticed that the rates on Saturday and Sunday, are considerably higher than the rates payable on weekdays.

This article will consider what penalty rates are, how they’re calculated, Sunday penalty rates, public holiday penalty rates and some factors that can affect them. 

What are penalty rates?

Put simply, penalty rates refer to higher rates of pay which apply in particular situations. 

Typical circumstances in which they may apply, include where: 

1. an employee is working on Saturday or Sunday; 
2. an employee is working overtime;  
3. an employee is working a late night shift;  
4. an employee is working an early morning shift; or 
5. an employee is working on a public holiday. 

How are penalty rates calculated?

Sunday Penalty Rates

If you have worked on the weekend, you would likely have noticed that weekend penalty rates are higher than weekdays. The higher rates are intended to compensate workers for working outside of the standard Monday – Friday hours.  

Whilst not all modern awards will require payment of higher rates on the weekend, most do require (generally) higher rates of pay on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday, often has the highest rate of pay as it is a day typically associated with relaxation. As a result, employees are compensated on a higher amount than all other days to account for the fact that they are working on Sunday.  

The following table provides a simplified overview of Sunday penalty rates for common awards: 

Public Holiday Penalty Rates 

Employees are also entitled to penalty rates on public holidays. The applicable rates are: 

1. all employees (excluding casuals) are paid 200% for time worked on public holidays for holidays between Monday-Friday, or, 250% for time worked on a public holiday on a Saturday or Sunday; and  
2. for casual employees, penalty rates are 250% for time which is worked on a public holiday between Monday to Friday, or, 312.5% for time worked on a public holiday which falls on a Saturday or Sunday.  

What are some factors that can affect penalty rates?

Annualised Salary 

If you are being paid, or are paying an employee an annualised salary, the minimum entitlements of the employee cannot be less than those prescribed under the relevant award or applicable registered agreement. Employees can reach agreements with their employers that an annual salary is intended to cover certain entitlements, including penalties. 

Guarantee of annual earnings  

If an employee and an employer have reached an agreement that the employer will pay the employee the high income threshold for over 12 months or more, then the employee does not receive the entitlements from the applicable award (i.e. penalties). 

Key Takeaways  

Understanding penalties will help you be across your relevant entitlements, whether you are an employee or an employer.  

As demonstrated above, if you work on Sundays, it is more likely than not that your rate of pay will be substantially higher than all other days.

It is important to be mindful of other factors that may impact the payment of penalty rates to you, such as annualised salaries and situations where an employee and employer have agreed to a guarantee of annual earnings.   

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