Updated 1st July 2022 to include the new 2.5% Pharmacy Industry Award Rate Increase. The new rates must be paid in the first full pay run after 1 July.
The Pharmacy Award is the catch-all industrial instrument used to pay employees in the community pharmacy industry. This means it dictates pay and conditions for pharmacists, pharmacy students, interns, and shop assistants in the industry. It’s very important that you follow the Award conditions to stay compliant and avoid being fined by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
About the Pharmacy Industry Award MA000012
Awards are the industrial instrument that governs the pay and conditions for Australia’s biggest industries. They were created to give workers a fair days pay, and balance pay with the need for businesses to make a profit. Awards exist across different industries so that these factors can be weighed up, including the Pharmacy Industry Award. Each year, the Fair Work Commission sets down and sets new pay rates that reflect these factors.
The Pharmacy Industry Award MA000012 covers community pharmacies and their employees. Importantly, this excludes pharmacists employed in hospitals and other functions.
Complexity of the Award System
With more than 180 modern awards, and each having 180-200 individual rules, it’s the worlds worst kept secret that the Award system is a complicated mess. Each of the rules covers complicated entitlements like overtime, shift breaks, RDO’s and public holidays.
Naturally, this makes following the law tricky, particularly in complicated industries . Many businesses covered by the Pharmacy Industry Award have been tripped up with the complexity, and made payroll errors or even underpayments as a result. Some businesses use the Fair Work Commission’s calculator to manually look up entitlement for each employee. However, as staff counts increase, this can become time-consuming, complex, and error-prone.
Keeping compliant with Fair Work legislation
To stay compliant, businesses are increasingly using automated Award interpretation software. Software like Tanda builds in the Pharmacy Industry Award rates and other entitlements, reducing the chances of underpayments occurring. The vast majority of underpayments aren’t from unscrupulous employers trying to steal their workers wages – they’re from simple misunderstandings and errors.
Workforce Management Software typically records an employee’s time and attendance, and applies the appropriate pay rate, penalty rates, allowances and higher duties, integrating straight into payroll. Tanda manages a large number of awards including the Pharmacy Industry Award, including ith built-in rates that sync with payroll, update on staff birthdays or when Fair Work rules change.
Pharmacy Industry Award 2022 pay rates
Below are the minimum general Pharmacy Industry Award pay rates for 2022 for the various levels of employment. The current rule set came into effect on the 1st of July 2022.
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 1 |
$29.23 |
$35.07 |
$40.92 |
$58.45 |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 2 |
$29.90 |
$35.88 |
$41.86 |
$59.80 |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 3 |
$30.95 |
$37.14 |
$43.33 |
$61.90 |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 4 |
$32.23 |
$38.67 |
$45.12 |
$64.45 |
|
Pharmacist |
$40.10 |
$48.12 |
$56.14 |
$80.12 |
|
Experienced Pharmacist |
$43.93 |
$52.71 |
$61.50 |
$87.85 |
|
Manager |
$50.10 |
$60.12 |
$70.14 |
$100.20 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 1 |
$23.38 |
$29.23 |
$35.07 |
$52.61 |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 2 |
$23.92 |
$29.90 |
$35.88 |
$53.82 |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 3 |
$24.76 |
$30.95 |
$37.14 |
$55.71 |
|
Assistant/Student – Level 4 |
$25.78 |
$32.23 |
$38.67 |
$58.01 |
|
Pharmacist |
$32.08 |
$40.10 |
$48.12 |
$72.18 |
|
Experienced Pharmacist |
$35.14 |
$43.93 |
$52.71 |
$79.07 |
|
Manager |
$40.08 |
$50.10 |
$60.12 |
$90.18 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$13.15 |
$15.78 |
$18.41 |
$26.30 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$10.52 |
$13.15 |
$15.78 |
$23.67 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$14.61 |
$17.54 |
$20.46 |
$29.23 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$11.69 |
$14.61 |
$17.54 |
$26.30 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$17.54 |
$21.05 |
$24.55 |
$35.08 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$14.03 |
$17.54 |
$21.05 |
$31.57 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$20.46 |
$24.56 |
$28.65 |
$40.93 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$16.37 |
$20.46 |
$24.56 |
$36.83 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$23.39 |
$28.07 |
$32.74 |
$46.78 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$18.71 |
$23.39 |
$28.07 |
$42.10 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$26.30 |
$31.56 |
$36.82 |
$52.60 |
|
Level |
Hourly Pay |
Saturday |
Sunday |
Public Holiday |
|
Level 1 |
$21.04 |
$26.30 |
$31.56 |
$47.34 |
Classifying employees under the Pharmacy Industry Award
One of the biggest reasons employers underpay staff is because they have been incorrectly classified. The rates and entitlements vary dramatically depending on what classification an employee is. Fair Work provides a complete guide on classifying staff. But, for a basic outline, see below:
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES
- On average works 38 hours each week.
- Can be a permanent employee or on a fixed-term contract.
PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
- On average work less than 38 hours per week.
- Commonly work regular hours each week.
- Can be a permanent employee or on a fixed-term contract.
CASUAL EMPLOYEES
- Are employed with the understanding that there is no firm advance commitment to ongoing work with an agreed pattern of work.
Casual conversion
The Federal Government has recently introduced laws which allow some casuals to become permanent employees. You’ll need to offer casual conversion if an employee has been at the business for at least a year and worked consistent hours in that time. These rules were created to stop situations where casuals worked full-time for long periods without any access to annual leave. For more information on casual conversion see Tanda’s complete guide on the topic.
The Pharmacy Industry Award includes casual conversion and you’ll need to take this into account when rostering employees. If casuals are eligible to become permanent it also grants them additional entitlements such as annual leave and sick leave.
Penalties and allowances
All modern Awards include entitlements, penalties and allowances for certain types of work. Tanda will alert you to some of these, and even pay some automatically, like penalty rates. It’s still a good idea to know some of the basic rules that apply. For example, penalty rates give workers more money per hour for working inconvenient times, like a public holiday. By contrast, overtime gives workers more per hour if they have to work a shift that’s longer than their rostered hours.
Pharmacy Industry Award workers will also be eligible for other typical allowances, like laundry, clothing and meals. The interpretation of these allowances can be complicated and depends on the situation of your business.
Leave entitlements
Workers employed under the Pharmacy Industry Award receive the same leave entitlements as the vast majority of employees in Australia. These are set out in the National Employment Standards (NES). The amount of leave is set out by the classification of the employee. Typically, casuals don’t receive annual leave entitlements, whereas part time and full time employees do.
FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES
- Are entitled to paid leave including annual leave and sick & carer’s leave.
PART-TIME EMPLOYEES
- Are entitled to paid leave including annual leave and sick & carer’s leave.
CASUAL EMPLOYEES
- Are not entitled to paid leave including annual leave and sick & carer’s leave.
