Don't forget this next week - or you could find your business in hot water.
New minimum wage rates apply from next Tuesday, July 1 – and the Fair Work Ombudsman is encouraging employers to check pay guides on its website ahead of time.
The Australian Retailers Association has been vocal in its opposition to the latest increase.
Director Russell Zimmermann said it will see the full time Retail Employee Level 1 rate rise to $703.90 per week (or $18.52 per hour).
This will add to the stress retailers are already facing in the current economic climate, he said.
"This minimum wage increase, together with sluggish retail trade figures and penalty rate rises under Fair Work Commission awards, will only cause further damage to retailers who are struggling to keep their heads above water as it is.
"Tuesday 1 July 2014 will see the last transition of penalty rates – meaning Sunday rates will increase to double time and Saturday rates will increase to time and a half.
"The retail industry is more reliant on pay scales than any other industry, and also suffers a higher disproportionate effect in minimum wage increases than other industries due to deregulated trading hours and penalties across all retail awards."
However, the Ombudsman said the transition to modern award rates of pay, also ending on July 1, will make accessing information on wages and conditions much simpler.
Since 2010, wages in awards have been gradually phasing from multiple state-based rates to one national rate.
People have had to identify ‘old’ and ‘new’ award classifications and perform calculations to determine the correct rates.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said these time-consuming processes will no longer be necessary under the majority of awards from July 1.
"We now have a truly national system of modern awards. What this means is that calculating wages is about to become a whole lot simpler.
"This makes it easier for employees to work out what they should be earning. Employers, too, can access the Fair Work Ombudsman’s simple online pay tools to work out the correct pay rates for their staff."
The Fair Work Ombudsman relaunched its website this month, and employers can now check the pay guides that apply to their industry and create their own account where they can save information relevant to their workplace.
Businesses can visit www.fairwork.gov.au for more information.
The national minimum wage will increase to $16.87 an hour on July 1 and applies from the first pay period on or after that date.