The Hair and Beauty Award is the minimum rate that can be paid to workers in the hair and beauty industry, including apprentices, salon assistants, beauty therapists, make-up artists, senior stylists and trichologists. Your base rate is measured on what qualifications you have and your experience in the industry.

You are also entitled to penalty rates for overtime, weekends working RDO’s and public holidays:

• Overtime (0-3 hours): 150% (perm) or 175% (casual)
• Overtime (3+ hours): 200% (perm) or 225% (casual)
• Saturday: 133%
• Sunday: 200%
• Working on RDO: 200%
• Public holidays: 250%

These are a legal requirement and non-negotiable with your employer. This is the minimum you must be paid.

Allowances

Allowances	Rate
Apprentice training fees and textbook costs reimbursement	reimbursement of training fees for prescribed courses and the cost of prescribed textbooks
Apprentice travel to block release training reimbursement	reimbursement for the excess reasonable travel costs incurred in the course of travelling to and from the training
District allowance – Broken Hill	$38.50 per week
Electrical equipment reimbursement	reimbursement for the cost of all electrical equipment necessary for carrying out work
First aid allowance	$0.31 per hour up to a maximum of $11.69 per week
Manager’s allowance	$44.98 per week
Meal allowance (not casuals)	$19.80 for the first meal and $19.80 for an extra meal after every 4 hours
Special and protective clothing reimbursement	reimbursement for the cost of the protective or special clothing and the cost of replacement items, when replacement is necessary due to normal wear and tear
Tool allowance	$9.64 per week
Transfer to another township reimbursement	reimbursement for the whole of the moving expenses, including fares and transport charges for the employee and their family
Transport reimbursement – starting or finishing after 10pm or before 7am – normal means of transport unavailable (not casuals)	reimbursement for the cost of a taxi fare from the place of employment to usual place of residence
Working away from usual workplace – excess fares (not casuals)	reimbursement for the cost of any fares reasonably incurred in excess of those normally incurred in travelling between home and the usual place of employment
Working away from usual workplace – travelling time reimbursement – Monday to Saturday (not casuals)	payment at the minimum hourly rate for time spent travelling in excess of time normally spent travelling between home and the usual place of employment
Working away from usual workplace – travelling time reimbursement – Sunday and public holidays (not casuals)	payment at the minimum hourly rate + 50% for time spent travelling in excess of time normally spent travelling between home and the usual place of employment
Vehicle allowance	$0.85 per km
Working away from usual workplace – excess travelling costs reimbursement (not casuals)	reimbursement for all additional transport costs incurred

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Payslips

As an employee, it is your legal right to receive a payslip every time you are paid, either weekly, monthly or fortnightly, whether you’re an apprentice, casual, full-time, part-time, senior stylist, or beautician.

A boss who doesn’t provide a payslip within one working day of you being paid is breaking the law. Payslips are super important if you do have an issue with your wages (like unpaid penalty rates or overtime), because it’s much easier to prove underpayment if you ever need to lodge a wage claim.

At HSA, we work with claims like this a lot! But what should a proper payslip actually look like? A little note with wages, hours worked and tax is good enough, right? Actually, there are some really strict laws around producing payslips, to protect both you and your employer.

Your payslip must include the following info:

• Your name,
• Your employer’s business name,
• Your employer’s ABN,
• Your gross pay (including tax),
• Your net pay (minus tax),
• Any loadings (i.e. penalty rates, tool allowance, bonuses),
• The pay period,
• Superannuation contributions made by your employer and the name of your supernnuation fund,
• If any deductions have been made from your pay,

If you are paid at an hourly rate (as most hair and beauty employees are), your payslip must also include:

• The rate of pay for your ordinary hours,
• The number of hours you worked,
• The amount of payment made at that rate

If you are paid at an annual rate of pay (a salary), your payslip must also include the rate as at the latest date to which this payslip relates.

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Tracking your hours

We really recommend you track your hours, even if you do receive payslips, or work the same hours each week, in case you are being underpaid or the information is incorrect. There are a few ways that you can do this:

• Keep a diary of the days/hours worked – and how much you’re paid.
• Take a photo of your roster and back it up to iCloud or Google photos (this also helps if you have a boss who changes the roster at short notice or ‘forgets’ what day you’re supposed to be working!)
• Record your hours on your phone with The Fair Work Commission’s app. Plus, it’s Fair Work approved, which is super handy if you do end up with a wage dispute. You can download from the App Store and from Google Play.

I think I’m being underpaid – what do I do?

1. Check the Award and National Employment Standards. Read over this document or get in touch with us if you’re not sure, and we’ll confirm whether your employer is breaching legislation. If it doesn’t add up, then investigate!
2. Gather your evidence. Screenshot SMS or Facebook messages, forward emails to another account and take photos of any handwritten notes or payslips. Make sure you have copies of everything in safe place.
3. Contact your employer. Make it clear that to them they are breaching the Hair and Beauty Award, or National Employment Standards. Email, write or SMS your employer and state that you are asking for your legal entitlements. Stick to the facts and try not to be emotional. The Hair and Beauty Award and National Employment Standards are correct, not your employer. There is no exceptions to the law!
4. Take it further. If your employer still refuses to give you your entitled leave, get in touch, and we can help escalate the situation through the Fair Work Commission or your local small claims court.

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Your Rate of Pay