Salaried restaurant workers to receive top up payments
New rules brought in by the workplace tribunal will mean workers on a salary in restaurants, cafes, pubs and hotels will receive top-up payments if they work over 18 hours a week on weekends and public holidays.
In September, the Fair Work Commission will introduce limits on how many overtime and penalty-rate hours annualised wage staff can work under the hospitality and restaurant awards.
No matter how high the salary, from September employees will receive hourly penalty and overtime rates if they work more than 18 hours of penalty rate periods a week or more than 12 hours overtime a week.
According to hospitality employers, the rules add to the complexity of the system and they believe it will reduce the flexibility of paying staff salaries.
“This decision will increase the complexity for mum and dad hotel operators in administration and payroll,” said Stephen Ferguson, Australian Hotels Association chief executive.
“It also limits their ability to offset hours worked in busier periods against hours in quieter trading periods,” he said.
“Sadly, smaller businesses are quite likely to move away from annualised salaries due to the complexity.”
The Restaurant & Catering Association is also sceptical.
“Creating disincentives for businesses to stay open due to rising staff costs is just not what Australian hospitality needs after two years of COVID and the general rise in the cost of doing business,” chief executive Wes Lambert said.
Lambert has warned the extra costs could cause restrictions on hours of operation, given 57 per cent of employers indicated they opened on Sundays as well as public holidays.
In a small win for employers, nights were removed from the penalty rate proposal.
Note, staff may still receive backpay for working long evening hours at the end-of-year reconciliation process.
Australian Industry Group workplace policy director Stephen Smith said the changes “will make the clauses a lot more workable for both employers and employees”.
“The 16-hour limit that the commission previously proposed was unworkable given how common it is for employees covered by these awards to work at nights and on weekends.”
The new rules were brought in to combat underpayment as seen in high profile cases such as at George Calombaris’ Made Establishment or at Dinner by Heston, where salaried chefs or front-of-house staff were underpaid thousands of dollars compared to those on hourly rates due to shift as long as 80 to 90 hours a week.
Irit Jackson, 7th April 2022
