Retail Award, explained for shift work.
General Retail Industry Award 2020 · Reviewed July 2026 by the MyGig compliance team
Retail businesses selling goods to the public: shop floors, checkouts, stockrooms, and retail supervision, from single stores to national chains.
Penalties and loadings to know
- Casual loading of 25% on the ordinary hourly rate
- Higher casual rates on Saturdays, higher again on Sundays
- Public holiday work attracts a substantial penalty rate
- Evening work after specified times attracts loadings
Roles typically covered
Casual hourly rates under the Retail Award
| Classification | Casual $/hr |
|---|---|
| Retail employee level 1 | $34.76 |
| Retail employee level 2 | $35.56 |
| Retail employee level 3 | $36.11 |
| Retail employee level 4 | $36.81 |
| Retail employee level 5 | $38.33 |
| Retail employee level 6 | $38.89 |
| Retail employee level 7 | $40.84 |
| Retail employee level 8 | $42.49 |
Adult casual hourly rates including the 25% casual loading, effective from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026, covering all 8 casual classifications in MyGig's award engine. Source: MyGig award engine, built from Fair Work Commission pay guides. Penalties, overtime, and allowances apply on top per the award.
Free download:the 2026 Casual Rates Card puts every award’s entry casual rate on one printable sheet.
Get the rates cardBreaks under the Retail Award
| Min hours | Max hours | Break (mins) | Type | Paid | To be taken after | To be taken before | What the award says | Clause |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | Meal & rest | - | - | - | “In rostering rest and meal breaks, the employer must seek to ensure that the employee has meaningful breaks during work hours.” | cl 16.4 |
| - | - | 12 hours | Between shifts | - | - | - | “An employee must have a minimum break of 12 hours between when the employee finishes work on one day and starts work on the next.” | cl 16.6(a) |
| - | - | - | Between shifts | - | - | - | “If an employee starts work again without having had 12 hours off work, the employer must pay the employee for each hour worked at the rate of 200% of the employee’s minimum hourly rate until the employee has a break of 12 consecutive hours.” | cl 16.6(b) |
| - | - | - | Between shifts | Paid | - | - | “The employee must not suffer any loss of pay for ordinary hours not worked during the period of a break required by clause 16.6.” | cl 16.6(c) |
Quoted from the award text published by Fair Work, as at 20 August 2026. Clause numbers are the award’s own. The quoted words are the award’s. The structured columns are MyGig’s transcription of the quoted sentence in the same row, and a dash means the sentence does not state that value. Breaks vary with shift length, roster and agreement, so read the clause in full before relying on any row.
Span of hours
“The minimum daily engagement of a casual employee is 3 hours, or 1.5 hours’ in the circumstances set out in clause 11.3.”
cl 11.2Quoted from the award text published by Fair Work, as at 20 August 2026. Clause numbers are the award’s own.
Current minimum rates
Entry-level adult casual: $34.76/hr as at 1 July 2026, from MyGig's award engine (the same data that prices every shift). Award rates change with every annual wage review (first full pay period on or after 1 July). For the full classification tables, use the official pay guide, or let MyGig apply them for you: every shift estimate uses current rates, penalties included, clause cited.
Retail Award FAQs
What is the minimum shift length for retail casuals?
The Retail Award sets a minimum engagement for casuals, typically 3 hours. Every MyGig retail shift respects award minimums automatically.
Do retail casuals get penalty rates on weekends?
Yes: casual rates step up on Saturdays and again on Sundays, and public holidays attract a substantial penalty. The exact multipliers are in the award and the shift total on MyGig shows the loaded pay before anyone commits.
Where do I check current retail pay rates?
The official Fair Work pay guide for MA000004 (linked on this page) is updated after each annual wage review. On MyGig, current rates are applied automatically to every shift estimate.
General information only, not legal advice. The award itself (General Retail Industry Award 2020, MA000004) and the Fair Work Ombudsman’s pay tools are the authoritative sources: read the award. Back to all award guides or MyGig compliance & EOR.
Stop interpreting awards by hand.
MyGig employs your casual workers as EOR and applies this award automatically: rates, loadings, penalties, and super, with the clause cited.