SUBMISSIONS AND EVIDENCE OF EMPLOYERS FILED IN THE FWC’S HAIR AND BEAUTY INDUSTRY PENALTY RATES CASE

Home / HABA Blog / SUBMISSIONS AND EVIDENCE OF EMPLOYERS FILED IN THE FWC’S HAIR AND BEAUTY INDUSTRY PENALTY RATES CASE

Posted March 19, 2018

On behalf of Hair and Beauty Australia (HABA), Ai Group Workplace Lawyers has filed submissions and evidence in the Fair Work Commission’s Hair and Beauty Industry Penalty Rates Case on behalf of the employers in the industry.

In the Fair Work Commission’s major Penalty Rates Decision last year, that lowered Sunday and public holiday penalty rates in the retail, fast food, hospitality and pharmacy industries, the Commission announced that penalty rates would be reviewed in the hair and beauty industry.

There are obvious similarities between the hair and beauty industry and the retail and pharmacy industries:

• Businesses in each of these industries predominately sell to consumers;
• A large range of hair and beauty products are sold by businesses in each of the industries;
• Businesses in each industry operate from similar locations, e.g. shopping strips and shopping malls;
• The opening hours of businesses in the three industries are often similar; and
• Lease arrangements for businesses in each industry are similar, with many businesses required by the terms of their leases to open on Sundays.

For the same reasons that Sunday and public holiday penalty rates have been adjusted in the retail, fast food, hospitality and pharmacy industries, penalty rates need to be adjusted in the hair and beauty industry. The existing penalty rates are no longer fair or relevant in contemporary workplaces.

HABA is seeking a modest reduction in Sunday penalty rates from double time to time and one half, and in public holiday rates from double time and one half to double time and one quarter.

Hearings in the case will take place before a Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission later this year.

This is why all salon owners, from both the hair and beauty sector, should be members of HABA. Thanks to your membership fees we are able to partner with the legal team from Ai Group who go into bat for salon owners with their years of expertise in industrial action and conflict resolution, resulting in better outcomes for salon owners. Through this partnership, we are able to ensure that salon owners are best represented at all levels of Government and you can relax knowing that changes to the Award are done with your best interest at heart as a business owner and member of the Hair and Beauty Industry.

As a member of HABA, salon owners can feel secure in the knowledge that they are represented by an organisation that truly has their best interests at heart. HABA is dedicated to protecting and promoting our members’ interests by being the leading voice for hair & beauty industry employers in Fair Work Commission proceedings that have a direct and significant impact on business.

Support the organisation that supports you and become a HABA member today.