Sunday penalty rates a brake on business: Queensland survey
A controversial Productivity Commission proposal to axe Sunday-specific penalty rates would encourage eight out of 10 small businesses that currently shut on Sundays to stay open all weekend, new research reveals.
The Australian has obtained the results of a new survey of more than 400 Queensland small businesses, which tests the Productivity Commission’s draft recommendations for an overhaul of Australia’s workplace relations system.
Of the hospitality, entertainment, retail, restaurant and cafe businesses surveyed, 27 per cent do not currently open on Sundays, with 71 per cent of those blaming that decision on penalty rates.
Eighty per cent of those businesses told the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland that they would open if Sunday penalty rates were set at the lower Saturday level.
However, the survey reveals only 45 per cent of businesses that currently open on Sunday would open for longer if Saturday rates applied. But 62 per cent of Sunday-opening businesses would put on more staff.
The most contentious element of the Productivity Commission’s draft plan is for workers in the retail, hospitality and entertainment industries to receive the same penalty rates on a Sunday as on a Saturday.
According to the Queensland Council of Unions’ submission to the Productivity Commission, which will hold a public hearing in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, today, the change will hit low-paid workers. For those in the general retail industry, permanent workers are currently paid one-quarter extra than their usual wage on Saturdays and double-time on Sundays.
In the fast-food industry, staff receive time-and-a-half on Sundays. Bar attendants, for example, would be paid at least $74 less for an eight-hour Sunday shift if the Productivity Commission’s recommendation was adopted.
CCIQ director of advocacy and workplace relations Nick Behrens will testify before the Productivity Commission today, and will call for greater flexibility for small businesses. “In a modern 24/7 economy, Australia’s workplace laws need to reflect the dynamic nature of the new working week and allow businesses to tailor their staffing arrangements to respond to peak demand periods,” he said.
“The current penalty rates regime inhibits economic growth by providing a disincentive to employers from having longer trading hours or offering staff additional hours.”
But QCU president John Battams, who will also give evidence to the Productivity Commission today, said the axing of Sunday penalty rates would hurt the lowest-paid workers. “In reality, this proposition results in a pay cut for people who can ill afford it,” he told The Australian.
“There’s no evidence in our view that cutting people’s wages creates jobs. Our view is that you suck money out of the economy and that has a worse impact. There’s no empirical evidence that it’s going to create one job, let alone thousands.”
More than 400,000 Queenslanders earn penalty rates for working Sundays in the hospitality and retail industries, he said.
Source: The Australian, Sarah Elks, 21st September 2015
Originally published as: Sunday penalty rates a brake on business: Queensland survey
