Member News - TAGLaw

Partner, Sharlene Wellard and Senior Associate, Ben Motro from Piper Alderman's (New South Wales, Australia) Employment Relations team acted for the Restaurant and Catering Association in relation to this appeal. The appeal followed an initial two year legislative review of the Award in a hearing that lasted for 20 days.

In the appeal, the Commission accepted that Sunday penalty rates limit employment opportunities and determined that some casual employees were overcompensated for Sunday work and reduced the penalty rate. It also determined it necessary to add 'receiving of moneys' to the duties of grade 1 employees and 'taking reservations, meeting and seating guests' to grade 2 employees, which removed a restriction that had artificially limited the use of those grades and had required employers to engage employees at an inappropriate higher grade.

Sharlene Wellard said "we were delighted to act for Restaurant and Catering Association. The Association's decision to lodge the appeal was gutsy and indicative of its commitment to the industry by pursuing fair and appropriate conditions in the Restaurant Industry Award. This appeal decision assists parties to determine what evidence is necessary to support an Award variation and makes it clear that Award terms can be varied quite significantly in appropriate circumstances. The decision will have a significant impact on the restaurant industry and we were very pleased to be involved."