On Friday, 5 July 2024 the Fair Work Commission handed down a decision (Decision) in an ongoing matter to address uncertainty in the General Retail Industry Award 2020(Retail Award). 

Clause 15.7 of the Retail Award 

Following consultation between unions and employer groups, minor amendments have been made to clause 15.7(c) of the Retail Award. Clause 15.7(c) previously read:  

Column 1 Type of employment    Column 2 When an employer must pay overtime    Full-time employee Overtime is payable for hours worked:  in excess of the ordinary hours of work; or  outside the span of ordinary hours (excluding shiftwork), subject to clause 15.2; or  outside the roster conditions prescribed in clause 15 - Ordinary hours of work and rostering arrangements.  Part-time employee  Overtime is payable for hours worked:  in excess of their guaranteed hours as agreed in clause 10.5 (a) or as varied under clause 10.6 or clause 10.11; or  outside the span of ordinary hours (excluding shiftwork), subject to clause 15.2. Casual employee  Overtime is payable for hours worked:  in excess of 38 ordinary hours per week or, if the casual employee works in accordance with a roster, in excess of 38 ordinary hours per week averaged over the course of the roster cycle; or  outside the span of ordinary hours (excluding shiftwork), subject to clause 15.2; or   in excess of 11 hours on one day of the week and in excess of 9 hours on any other day of the week.

The Decision took effect immediately from 5 July 2025 however, in accordance with section 165(3) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), the changes to the Retail Award do not take effect in relation to a particular employee until the start of the employee’s first full pay period that starts on or after 5 July 2024.

The employer may roster an employee to work ordinary hours on 6 days in one week if the employee is rostered to work ordinary hours on no more than 4 days in the following week.

Following the Decision and effective from 5 July 2024, clause 15.7(c) has been replaced with the following: 

The employer may roster an employee to work ordinary hours on 6 days in one week per two-week cycle, provided that in the other week in that cycle the employee is rostered to work ordinary hours on no more than 4 days. 

Clause 21.2 of the Retail Award 

As a result of the Decision, clauses 21.2(a), 21.2(b) and 21.2(c) of the Retail Award have been deleted the replaced with a table for ease of reading and usability. The new clause 21.2(a) reads as follows:

An employer must pay an employee overtime for hours worked in accordance with Table 10—Application of overtime:

Table 10 – Application of overtime:

In addition, table references and references to clauses 21.2(a) have been amended through the Retail Award where appropriate.

 

When do these takes take effect?

Whilst the Decision does not make significant changes to the substance of the Award conditions, the changes reflect the Fair Work Commission’s ongoing commitment to addressing usability of the Retail Award and removing uncertainty. However, should you have any questions about how the Decision may affect the rostering or payroll practices in your business, please use our HR Advisor Service.