Pharmacy Daily | Fair Work rules to abolish junior adult pay rates

IN a decision announced yesterday, the Fair Work Commission has moved to abolish junior pay rates for young adult employees in pharmacy, retail and fast food industries, while maintaining them for minors, with staged changes over four years to come into effect from Dec this year.

The ruling addresses an application to vary junior rates under relevant awards, including the Pharmacy Industry Award, where "junior pay rates" currently apply to people below the age of 21, meaning 18-year-olds are paid 70% of the award rate, 19-year-olds 80% and 20-year-olds 90%.

Under the commission's ruling, the rate for 18-year-olds will increase by 5% each year until 2029, bringing it in line with an adult wage.

Pharmacist owners opposed to the application provided evidence to the Commission suggesting that changes to the award may result in them employing fewer younger adults.

Juniors commonly make up 15-25% of the workforce, witnesses noted, depending on the pharmacy and year, and they were employed primarily for flexibility, cost reasons, workforce balance, and community engagement.

Owners said junior employees required significantly more supervision, especially when young or newly hired, needed longer onboarding periods and more detailed explanations of basic tasks, and also had a higher turnover.

While noting productivity is typically lower initially, employers said it improved gradually with time and hours worked, and stressed that junior wage rates offset the extra supervision and lower productivity.

Overall, they indicated that given the same wage, they would prefer to employ someone with more capability and work and life experience, and would be less inclined to employ younger people.

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has acknowledged the Fair Work Commission's decision in the junior wage rates case.

Guild national vice-president, Simon Blacker said the decision sought to strike a balance in supporting workforce entry for young people and acknowledging more experienced workers often bring greater skills and hold a higher level of responsibility in their roles.

"Pharmacy assistants are an essential part of the community pharmacy workforce and it's important that we continue to encourage their entry into pharmacy," Blacker said.

"The Guild will work with our members to implement the change, which comes at a time when the cost of doing business continues to rise," he said, adding that the Guild "will continue to input on the timeframe for the amendments coming into force". KB