Up to 64 percent of retail businesses would allocate more hours to employees on Sundays if the Sunday penalty was reduced to 50 percent (time and a half).
These are the findings from an industry survey of 690 business, according to the Australian Retailers Association (ARA).
Just under 70 percent of stores trade for fewer hours on Sundays than on Saturdays, and 50 percent of those do so because of labour costs.
ARA executive director Russell Zimmerman said he supported the Government's plans to review Sunday penalty rates for retail.
“For many Australians, Sunday has become a normal shopping day, making above the norm penalty rates unnecessary,” he said
“The retail industry is seeking a moderate reduction, not an abolition. We propose a reduction in Sunday penalties from double time (100 percent) to time and half (50 percent).
“A reduction in Sunday penalty rates will allow retail employers to be able to provide more labour hours to retail employees who would like to work on Sundays.
“Independent research commissioned by the retail industry demonstrates retail employees are prepared to work on Sundays for a lower penalty rate, while analysis by the Shopping Centre Council of Australia shows that between 2009 and 2014, Sundays experienced the highest growth in customer foot traffic to shopping centres.”
Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull has confirmed that the Government will investigate penalty rates in line with the “seven day consumer economy”.
Zimmerman said a change was needed in order for retailers to better compete.
“Australian lifestyles are changing, and it is important to allow physical retailers the scope to be able to keep up with this change and compete effectively against new challenges, such as the 24/7 global marketplace and online.
“We look forward to collaborating with the Government to ensure the needs of both retail businesses and their employees are met by any changes that may occur to the payment of penalty rates.”