Minimum Wage 2.5% Increase Announced

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Home > Blog > Minimum Wage 2.5% Increase Announced
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The Fair Work Commission has announced that the national minimum wage, along with modern award minimum wages will be increased by 2.5%. The new national minimum wage will be $772.60 per week or $20.33 per hour.

Who does the increase apply to?

  • Employees who aren’t covered by an Agreement
  • The increase doesn’t automatically apply to rates within registered agreements unless stated within the agreement. However, the base rate within a registered agreement cannot be less than the modern award rate.

What happens next?

In the coming weeks, the Fair Work Commission will update pay rates for each award, which will happen over three stages.

Stage 1

Most Awards will increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2021

Stage 2

The Retail Award will increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 September 2021

Stage 3

Industries deemed by the Fair Work Commission to be affected by exceptional circumstances will increase from the first full pay period on or after 1 November 2021.

Awards included in stage 3 include a number of industries that have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Awards that will increase from 1 November 2021 are:

  • Pilots Award
  • Cabin Crew Award
  • Airline Ground Staff Award
  • Airport Award
  • Alpine Resorts Award
  • Amusement Award
  • Dry Cleaning and Laundry Award
  • Fitness Award
  • Hair and Beauty Award
  • Hospitality Award
  • Live Performance Award
  • Models Award
  • Marine Tourism and Charter Vessels Award
  • Nursery Award
  • Racing Clubs Events Award
  • Racing Ground Maintenance Award
  • Registered Clubs Award
  • Restaurant Award
  • Sporting Organisations Award
  • Traveling Shows Award
  • Wine Award

If you have a registered agreement that covers your employees, you will need to need to ensure that the minimum base rates within your agreement reflect the new minimum base rates applicable within the Modern Award rates.

In addition to an increase in base rates, award allowances that are calculated on a percentage of base rates will also increase in line with the new rate.

If you require more information in relation to calculating the correct base rates for your employees or need help reviewing a registered agreement to see if these changes apply to your business, please call Preston HR on 4052 0709. We are based in Cairns but service all over Queensland.