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By Christina Cotter
In June 2020, the Fair Work Commission determined that the minimum wage rates provided for under Modern Awards would increase by 1.75%. The timing of the wages increases would be staggered across awards to reflect the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the different industries.
For anyone not covered by an award or an agreement, the new National Minimum Wage is $753.80 per week or $19.84 per hour. This applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2020.
Who does the increase apply to?
The increase only applies to employees that get their pay rates from:
The new minimum wages also apply to any work an employee performs while they are in the JobKeeper scheme, if they get their pay rate from an award or the National Minimum Wage.
What do you need to do?
If you have employees on the National Minimum Wage you will need to pay them in accordance with the new minimum rates from 1 July 2020.
If you have employees on Modern Award rates, you will need to ensure that they are paid in accordance with the new minimum award rates from the first full pay period starting on or after the date set out below for each award group. The Pay Guides can be found on the Fair Work website https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/minimum-wages/pay-guides
When will the awards increase?
The increase to awards is happening in 3 stages.
Group 1 Awards - from 1 July 2020
Group 2 Awards - from 1 November 2020
Group 3 Awards - from 1 February 2021
If you have employees who are employed under awards in Group 3, you can subscribe to get email updates from Fair Work to receive notification when the new minimum rates are available in their pay tools.
See below for a complete list of awards in each group:
Group 1
The new minimum wages will start in the following awards from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 July 2020.
Group 2
The new minimum wages will start in the following awards from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 November 2020.
Group 3
The new minimum wages will start in the following awards from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 February 2021.
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