The retail industry has been warned that it may bear the brunt of the Fair Work Commission’s decision to implement reductions to penalty rates, according to The National Retail Association (NRA).
The decision, which was handed down this week, will see the reductions take place over a four-year transitional period.
NRA CEO Dominique Lamb has welcomed the reductions, but expressed disappointment in the longer transition period.
“Retail is struggling amid soaring operating costs and increased competition so a shorter transition to reduced penalty rates would have been a welcome relief, as it would have potentially allowed them to focus on improving customer service by having more employees on the floor.
“Australian retailers are paying some of the highest wages in the world, and it’s often not viable to even open their doors on a Sunday because they can’t even cover the wages let alone turn a profit, and that doesn’t help anyone.
“This transitional period is somewhere between the SDA’s recommendations and ours, but four years is a really long time, and adds complexity to an already complex system.
Lamb also emphasised her point, stating that penalty rates needed to return to a more reasonable, affordable level in order to allow retailers to create more jobs and to assist in the recovery of the industry.
She also cited the growing number of folding retailers as a sign that the issue needed to be addressed in a more timely fashion than the planned four-year period.
“We’re seeing big names like Topshop going into voluntary administration and Australian mainstays like Oroton staring down the barrel of significant losses.
“Lulu Lemon’s sales are down, and we’ve seen others like David Lawrence, Marcs, Pumpkin Patch, Laura Ashley, Rhodes and Beckett, Herringbone, Howards Storage World, Payless Shoes, the list goes on, end up in receivership in recent times."