Fair Work Australia has given its first wage decision and raised adult weekly award rates by $26.00 and set the minimum adult wage at $569.90 per week
Fair Work Australia has given its first annual review wage decision and:
- raised adult weekly award rates by $26.00
- set a national adult minimum wage of $569.90 per week (or 15.00 per hour) for employees without coverage of awards or agreements (who are not junior employees, employees to whom training arrangements apply or employees with disability)
- maintained the casual loading for employees covered by modern awards at 25% and set a casual loading for employees without coverage of awards or agreement at 21%, with a view to increasing this in instalments until it is bought into line with the standard casual loading in modern awards by 2014.
Many modern award allowances were also increased as a result of the decision.
Any increases to rates of pay as a result of the annual wage review are payable from the first full pay period to commence on or after 1 July 2010. However, when modern awards commenced operation on 1 January 2010, they contained new wage rates, penalties and loadings and a standard 'transitional provisions' clause with new award rates to be phased in over five annual instalments starting from the first pay period on or after 1 July 2010. This coincides with the increase in the award rate. Where a modern award does not have the 'transitional provisions' clause, the wages, penalties and loadings in the modern award applied in full from 1 January 2010.
Employers should start preparing now to implement the increase to minimum rates of pay and will also need to consider how the increases to rates of pay are affected by any transitional arrangements. There is no doubt that this can be complicated so please contact the team at Your HRmanager for advice and assistance.