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2016-2017
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Take Home Pay of All Workers) 2017
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
and
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Circulated by authority of
George Christensen MP
Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Take Home Pay of All Workers) 2017
OUTLINE
This Bill seeks to protect the take home pay of employees who are affected by proposed changes
to award penalty rates.
The Bill negates the effect of the Sunday penalty rate reductions for employees in the retail, fast
food, hospitality and pharmacy industries as set out in the decision by the Full Bench of the Fair
Work Commission on February 23, 2017.
The Bill will also ensure that penalty rates are unable to be reduced in any future greenfields and
non-greenfields enterprise agreements if an individual employee is worse off under the enterprise
agreement than they would under the award, by virtue of the fact the individual employee works
only or mainly on days on which penalty rates are paid.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The bill will have no financial impact.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1: Short Title
Clause 1 provides for the Bill, once enacted, to be cited as the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting
Take Home Pay of All Workers) Act 2017.
Clause 2: Commencement
Clause 2 provides for the Bill to commence on the day after the Act receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3: Schedules
Clause 3 provides that legislation specified in a Schedule is amended or repealed as set out in that
Schedule.
Schedule 1 - Amendments
Summary
The objective of the Bill is to ensure that the overall take-home pay of employees is not reduced by
either by the Fair Work Commission decision handed down on February 23, 2017 or by future
enterprise agreements.
Explanation of the changes
Item 1
Item 1 negates the effect of the Sunday penalty rate reductions for employees in the retail, fast
food, hospitality and pharmacy industries as proposed by the Fair Work Commission on February
23, 2017.
Item 2
Item 2 ensures that penalty rates are unable to be reduced in any future greenfields and non-
greenfields enterprise agreements if an individual employee is worse off under the enterprise
agreement than they would under the award, by virtue of the fact the individual employee works
only or mainly on days on which penalty rates are paid.
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Take Home Pay of All Workers) 2017
This bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the bill
This Bill seeks to protect the take home pay of employees who are affected by proposed changes
to award penalty rates.
The Bill negates the effect of the Sunday penalty rate reductions for employees in the retail, fast
food, hospitality and pharmacy industries as set out in the decision by the Full Bench of the Fair
Work Commission on February 23, 2017.
The Bill will also ensure that penalty rates are unable to be reduced in any future greenfields and
non-greenfields enterprise agreements if an individual employee is worse off under the enterprise
agreement than they would be under the award, by virtue of the fact the individual employee works
only or mainly on days on which penalty rates are paid.
Human rights implications
This bill does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This bill is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
George Christensen MP