THE SHORT ANSWER
Confirm the hours.
Then check the weekend rate.
For non-shiftworkers under the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004), use the table below for Saturday and Sunday ordinary hours. The casual percentages include casual loading and apply to the relevant minimum hourly rate, not a weekday casual rate that already includes loading.
Before comparing dollars, verify coverage, employment type, the rate applying to the work and the treatment of each hour. Then match the resulting gross earnings with the payroll lines that paid for those hours.
This guide focuses on weekend ordinary hourly pay. Overtime, shiftwork, public holidays and special pay arrangements need their own checks. A weekend label on a payslip does not establish the correct entitlement.
THE ORDINARY-HOURS STARTING POINT
Saturday and Sunday
are different checks.
| Day | Full-time / part-time | Casual, including loading |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday | 125% · 1.25× | 150% · 1.50× |
| Sunday | 150% · 1.50× | 175% · 1.75× |
Source: Retail Award clause 22.1, Table 12. Percentages of the applicable minimum hourly rate. These are total rates, not extra percentages to add to pay already calculated.
Use Fair Work’s Pay and Conditions Tool and the appropriate pay guide to identify dollar rates. Save the rate source and effective period with your comparison. Check contractual higher-rate obligations separately; the table alone does not settle them.
WHAT SHOULD PROMPT A CLOSER LOOK?
Six useful warning signs.
- The same earnings code and hourly amount appear on weekdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
- A casual worker’s loading appears to have been omitted or counted twice.
- A weekend shift has fewer paid hours than the verified payable time.
- A timesheet crosses a date boundary, but payroll treats it as one unexplained block.
- A rate change, employment-type change or classification change is missing from the payroll record.
- The apparent difference cannot be traced to a pay code, adjustment or source record.
These are investigation prompts. An inclusive rate, separate premium line or later adjustment may explain what the payslip shows. Obtain the supporting detail before deciding there is an error.
STEP 01
Confirm who and what you are checking.
Start with the employee ID, work dates, workplace and pay period. Record whether the person was casual, part-time or full-time on those dates. Check the classification and any age-based or other relevant rate category using supporting records.
Do not select MA000004 solely because the business has a shopfront. Fair Work’s Retail Award summary explains coverage and directs users to tools for finding the applicable Award. Confirm the workplace-relations system and whether a registered agreement applies.
Fair Work’s penalty-rate guidance explains that agreements and arrangements such as contracts or individual flexibility arrangements can affect pay treatment. If coverage or an arrangement is unclear, obtain advice before applying this ordinary hourly comparison.
Keep: employee details, coverage basis, classification evidence, employment terms and unresolved questions.
STEP 02
Gather work and payroll records together.
Collect the roster and its changes, original time entries, verified break records, payslip and detailed earnings export. Include pay-code definitions, rate changes and off-cycle adjustments. A roster records planned work; it does not prove what was actually worked.
Choose a review period that lets you explain the relevant shifts. Keep complete weeks or roster cycles and adjacent work where the calculation may depend on them. Do not isolate a Saturday if earlier work could change its treatment.
Retain the originals and create a linked comparison copy. Keep the work date distinct from the pay-period dates and payment date. A payment this week may relate to an earlier weekend.
Keep: source file and row references, versions, included dates and a visible list of missing records. Use the payroll audit data checklist to prepare the evidence.
STEP 03
Establish payable hours and their treatment.
Reconcile start and finish times, changes and actual breaks. Distinguish paid breaks from verified unpaid breaks, and check minimum-payment requirements before settling the payable quantity. An unexplained clock entry or scheduled meal break is not enough.
Check ordinary-hours eligibility under clause 15 and overtime under clause 21; part-time guaranteed-hours evidence can matter. Apply Part 6 for shiftwork where relevant. Do not multiply the ordinary weekend rate by an overtime rate.
Fair Work’s Retail shiftworker guidance explains why working late does not, by itself, establish shiftworker status. Review the employment arrangement and roster rather than inferring status from a payroll code.
Preserve workplace-local start and finish dates and times for overnight work. Identify the applicable treatment before dividing or allocating amounts. Check public-holiday entitlements for the workplace and date instead of assuming every Saturday or Sunday uses the ordinary weekend table.
Keep: verified payable hours, hour categories, relevant period evidence and the reason for each treatment.
STEP 04
Calculate each matching earnings segment.
Use the source-backed rate for the employee and effective period, then calculate each established segment as payable hours × applicable total hourly rate. Keep the rate basis, multiplier and calculation visible.
Do not reuse today’s dollar rate for historical work without checking the relevant version and effective-date rules. Where the review spans a change, retain enough detail to show which rate belongs to each segment.
Do not add loading again to an inclusive casual weekend rate. Keep allowances, contractual obligations and any other relevant amounts identifiable rather than assuming one hourly total covers everything.
Keep: rate source, effective period, calculated segments, rounding treatment and assumptions that still need confirmation.
WORKED EXAMPLE
A Saturday paid
at a weekday casual rate.
Four payable hours. A weekend component to investigate.
Assume a casual non-shiftworker works Saturday 10:00–14:00: four verified payable ordinary hours, with no unpaid break deduction. No public holiday, overtime, allowance or special arrangement applies. The invented minimum base rate is $30.00; it is not a published classification rate.
| Comparison | Calculation | Gross amount |
|---|---|---|
| Recorded weekday casual rate | 4.00 × ($30.00 × 1.25) | $150.00 |
| Illustrative Saturday entitlement | 4.00 × ($30.00 × 1.50) | $180.00 |
Fair Work’s casual Retail penalty-rate guidance confirms the inclusive Saturday rate used here.
Check before concluding: was a separate $30.00 premium or a linked adjustment paid for this shift? If the matching components total $180.00, the split display alone does not indicate a shortfall.
Illustrative arithmetic only. Verify the actual classification rate, payable hours, other entitlements and all related payments before confirming an amount owed.
STEP 05
Reconcile the payroll lines to gross pay.
Map the work segments to all matching earnings lines. Some systems pay one inclusive hourly rate; others display base pay, loading and a premium separately. Count the hours once and combine only the components that belong to the comparison.
Fair Work’s pay-slip guidance explains the required pay details and how separately identifiable loadings and penalties should be shown. Ask for the underlying earnings export when the payslip does not explain a shift-level amount.
Check that the earnings lines reconcile to the payslip’s gross total, including reversals and later corrections. Compare like-for-like gross amounts; deductions and the net bank transfer are a separate reconciliation.
Keep: earnings-code meanings, allocated gross amounts, adjustment links and the reason for any remaining difference.
STEP 06
Explain the difference and follow it through.
Record the expected amount you can establish, the matching paid amount and the difference. State which facts support the calculation and which remain uncertain. Missing evidence should stay missing, not become zero pay or an invented rate.
Use the underpayment checking guide when a possible shortfall remains. If the recorded amount is higher, follow the unexpected-payment guide before deciding why or considering recovery.
Assign a reviewer and next action. Correct confirmed issues through the authorised payroll process and retain the correction reference. Recheck the affected dates; if the cause is shared, review other relevant workers and weekends.
Keep: the explanation, evidence, reviewer decision, correction reference and follow-up result.
MAKE THE CHECK REPEATABLE
A compact review worksheet.
Use these suggested working fields alongside your source records. They are not a WageReview upload template.
- Employee: ID, employment type, classification, applicable instrument and rate category.
- Work: local dates and times, location, verified breaks and payable hours.
- Treatment: ordinary/overtime/shiftwork basis, holiday check and period evidence.
- Calculation: effective rate source, segments and expected gross amount.
- Payment: earnings codes, matching gross amounts and adjustment references.
- Outcome: variance, explanation, missing evidence, reviewer and follow-up.
For help connecting the records, read How to Compare Timesheets, Rosters and Payslips.
FROM A PAY QUESTION TO A REVIEW TRACE
Where WageReview can help.
WageReview’s controlled demo compares recorded paid amounts with supported deterministic calculations using employee profiles and pay/time CSVs. A reviewer can inspect calculation segments and supporting explanations to investigate a difference.
This guide helps prepare an hourly Retail Award comparison. The demo relies on valid classification, work and arrangement evidence; it does not determine legal Award coverage or verify that a clock entry represents work actually performed. Some outcomes need complete period evidence.
It does not automatically reconcile arbitrary roster files or payslip PDFs, provide a complete entitlement audit, or correct payroll. Production use is not approved. Explore the workflow with synthetic data before discussing a particular review.
Common questions.
What are the Retail Award weekend penalty rates?
Use the ordinary-hours table above after confirming coverage and hour treatment. It is not the rate table for overtime, shiftwork or public-holiday work.
Should I add casual loading to the weekend rate?
No extra loading should be added to the inclusive casual rates shown above. Check whether a payroll rate already includes loading before comparing or calculating amounts.
Does a higher weekday rate automatically cover weekend penalties?
Do not assume it does. Check the actual employment terms and applicable obligations. Fair Work explains arrangements affecting penalty rates; unclear arrangements need advice.
Is a Saturday shift automatically ordinary time?
No. Establish the hour category using the employee’s work and arrangement evidence. A calendar day alone cannot settle that question.
What if the payslip shows no separate weekend penalty line?
Obtain the pay-code definitions and detailed earnings. A component may be included in a total rate or paid separately; reconcile the matching amounts before deciding it is absent.
Does a matching weekend amount prove all pay is correct?
No. This comparison checks the established segments and payments. Other entitlements, missing records or unresolved arrangements may need separate review.
Official sources and related guides.
- General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004): clauses 15, 21, 22 and Part 6
- Fair Work: Retail Award summary and coverage
- Fair Work: Pay and Conditions Tool
- Fair Work: Penalty rates and workplace arrangements
- Fair Work Library: Shiftworkers in the Retail Award
- Fair Work Library: Casual penalty rates in the Retail Award
- Fair Work: Public holiday penalty rates
- Fair Work: Pay slips
- Browse all Payroll Guides
Sources checked 9 October 2026. General information for payroll review in Australia, not legal advice. Confirm the instrument and effective rules for the dates being reviewed. The invented example is not a current Award dollar-rate table.