Removal of Penalty Rates Claim

Discuss about the Removal of Penalty Rates Claim.

When businesses are established, the owner or the management employs workers who work during the specified time of the day. Sometimes, there is a need for the workers to extend the working time of the day to accomplish different tasks in the organization. During that time, the employees are paid based on penalty rates in the hospitality industry. Penalty rates refer to the mandated and set minimum rate of pay which is usually higher than the normal minimum rate of pay which is paid to workers for working on late night shifts, overtime, weekends, public holidays and even early morning shifts (Daly, 2014). People have expressed different opinions on the issue of public rates with some people supporting removal of penalty rates and others being against removal of the penalty rates.

Penalty rates removal will lead to increased services to the consumers. Business owners will use the money saved due to not paying the penalty rates to improve the services they offer to their consumers (Richardson, 2010). This will create good reputation for the hospitality industry. The employees will feel proud to work in the hospitality industry, and this will create a good working relationship with the employers. Due to the good relations, employers will help the employees to improve their skills through training so that they can offer better services.

The improved services will occur at the expense of employees’ welfare as they will be forced to work to work for more hours so that they can meet their financial obligations (Tom, 2017). To remain in the same financial position, the employee will have to work for more hours than before, and this will cause a lot of inconveniences. Due to the inconveniences created, there will be poor employment relations between the employer and the employee because the workers will feel as if they are mistreated, and the employers do not care about their welfare and well-being

Removal of penalty rates will enable employers to provide employment opportunities to the unemployed and even underemployed citizen. This is because the employers will be able to afford to pay extra employees using the normal minimum pay rate for working on public holidays and weekends (Daly, 2014). Giving the citizens an opportunity to earn will create good employment relations between the employer and the employees and this will help the organization to improve their services and also achieve their vision, mission, goals, and objectives. This will also encourage the adoption of 24/7 economy because the employees will be able to afford the wages of the employees.

The arguments of the people against the removal of penalty rates claim that abolishing the penalty rates in the hospitality industry will create employment opportunities and also cause a lot of hardships to the workers (ABC, 2017). Removing the penalty rates will force the employees to earn less than before, and this will cause them to struggle financially. This will lead to a weak employment relationship, and the employees will lack the motivation that can help the organization achieve its goals. The poor payment on working on public holidays and weekends will create poor employment relations which can prevent the hospitality firm from being successful because the employees are not motivated to perform their duties effectively.

References

ABC , N. (2017, October 6). http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-23/weekend-penalty-rates-fair-work-commission-decision/8295758. Retrieved from abc.net.au: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-23/weekend-penalty-rates-fair-work-commission-decision/8295758

Daly, T. (2014). Evenings, nights and weekends: working unsocial hours and penalty rates (Doctoral dissertation, Centre for Work+ Life).

Richardson, S. (2010). Tourism and hospitality students' perceptions of a career in the industry: a  comparison of domestic (Australian) students and international students studying in      Australia. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 17(1), 1-11.

Tom, M. (2017, October 6). The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved from www.smh.com:  http://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace-relations/penalty-rates-for-sunday-holiday-work-    to-be-slashed-after-landmark-decision-by-fair-work-commission-20170222-guj8f3.html