Impact of the Fair Work Commission Increase to Your Business
The Fair Work Commission has announced that a 1.75% increase to minimum wages will apply to all award wages. In previous years the increase to award rates would happen on 1 July, however this year the increase to awards will start on 3 different dates for different groups of awards.
What do you need to do?
Advivo recommends checking to see if your workers fall into Group 1 as these awards were increased from 1 July 2020 and while Fair Work are updating their website and tools you can:
- Subscribe to get their email updates – click here to subscribe
- Keep checking their website for updates.
Who does the increase apply too?
The increase applies to the national minimum wage and will apply to minimum rates in 3 stages. To see which stage your award is in click here.
If you’re covered by a registered agreement, you should check it to see whether this increase affects you. Please note that the increase doesn’t affect employees who already get paid more than their new minimum wage.
While your employees are on Jobkeeper, if they get their pay rate from an award or the national minimum wage, the new rates will apply while they are on the Jobkeeper scheme. See more details on this here.
When will my employees award increase?
The increase to awards will happen in 3 groups.
Group 1 Awards – from 1 July 2020
- Frontline Heath Care & Social Assistance Workers
- Teachers and Child Care
- Other Essential Services
Group 2 Awards – from 1 November 2020
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- A range of other industries
Group 3 Awards – from 1 February 2021
- Accommodation and Food Services
- Arts and Recreation Services
- Aviation
- Retail
- Tourism
For a full list of the awards included in each group, click here.
What happens next?
The Commission will issue draft determinations and orders about how this decision affects awards. It will then update the pay rates in each award. Fair Work are in the process of updating their tools and resources with the new rates.
Until then we suggest reviewing which of the three groups your employees belong to and subscribe with Fair Work to stay up to date with the latest changes.
Contact us today about how we can help you understand these changes to Fair Work and the next steps for your business.
