Allowances, penalty rates and other payments
Employees may be entitled to a higher pay rate for working at particular times of the day or on certain days of the week.
On this page:
- Penalty rates
- Allowances or other entitlements
- Stand downs and pay during severe weather or natural disasters
- Tools and resources
- Related information
Penalty rates
Some employees may be entitled to a higher pay rate for working at particular times of the day or on certain days of the week. This may include:
- working on a weekend or public holiday
- working late at night or early in the morning
- working extra hours.
Find out more on our Penalty rates and Overtime pay pages.
Allowances or other entitlements
Employees may also be entitled to an allowance or other entitlements where they:
- need to wear special clothing at work
- work in a workplace that damages or dirties their clothes or footwear
- use their own vehicle for work
- spend time travelling for work.
Find out more on our Allowances and Uniforms, vehicle and travel entitlements pages.
Use our Pay and Conditions Tool to calculate penalty rates and allowances in your industry.
The specific penalty rates or allowances that an employee needs to be paid depends on the award, agreement or other industrial instrument that applies. There can be other workplace arrangements in place that affect this including salary arrangements, employment contracts or individual flexibility arrangements (IFAs).
Employees need to be paid at least the amounts that they’re entitled to under the applicable award, regardless of the workplace instrument or arrangement in place.
Stand downs and pay during severe weather or natural disasters
There are limited circumstances where an employer can stop paying an employee or an employee’s pay and entitlements can be reduced. This includes:
- where an employee has been stood down because there is no useful work for an employee due to events beyond the control of the employer
- events such as severe and inclement weather where it is unreasonable or unsafe to continue work, or
- when a natural disaster affects a business.
Find out more at:
