Penalty Rates

In a massive win for HSA, the Fair Work Commission has rejected Hair and Beauty Australia’s (HABA) bid to slash penalty rates for hair and beauty workers. HSA, with the support of the SDA and AWU, have been fighting the case for two years. HABA pushed for penalty rates to decrease from 200% to 150% […]

Wage theft is very common in the hair and beauty industry – there are so many small businesses run by employers who don’t know the full extent of the law, who don’t have fancy accounting software, or who straight up just exploit their staff and hope to get away with it. As an employee, it […]

Next week is Melbourne Cup Day… and the start of the busiest season of the year for hair stylists. 😰 School formals, weddings, Christmas, races – everyone needs their hair and makeup done, and they want it done right. Some of you may remember that Melbourne Cup Day actually used to be a paid public […]

HSA has challenged the proposal to cut penalty rates for hair stylists at the Fair Work Commission, with the hearing set to conclude this week. As well as the legal challenge, members, ambassadors and supporters rallied outside the Fair Work Commission on August 26, in an event that made national news. HSA’s legal team presented […]

On Monday, August 26, HSA members, ambassadors, and other hairstylists took to the street outside the Fair Work Commission to protest the penalty rate hearing. It was a big step for the HSA, our first public event as a union, and we had a fantastic turnout. We also had support from the ETU, the SDA, […]

As part of our campaign to save hair stylists’ penalty rates from being slashed, HSA have launched a petition so members and hairdressers around Australia can support our cause. If you’re not in the know, Hair and Beauty Australia (HABA) have proposed to cut penalty rates for Sundays (From 200% to 250%) and public holidays […]

Our campaign to protect penalty rates picked up some serious steam this week. HSA member and Ambassador Vanessa Watts spoke to ABC News about the effect penalty rate cuts will have on her business, her colleagues, and her own job. Vanessa talked about the pressures of managing a busy salon, and the toll this can take […]

Hair And Beauty Australia (HABA) have submitted their proposal to reduce penalty rates to the Fair Work Commission. After cutting penalty rates for the retail, fast food, hospitality and pharmacy industries last year, the Commission said that penalty rates would be reviewed for the hair and beauty industry. HABA have proposed to cut Sunday penalty […]

After cutting penalty rates for the retail, fast food, hospitality and pharmacy industries earlier this year, the Fair Work Commission has announced that penalty rates will also be reviewed for the hair and beauty industry. HABA has said they intended to submit a proposal, and are looking to cut the Sunday penalty rates from 200% […]