General Retail Industry Award [MA000004]: Employment types, rostering, and breaks

Author

The Rippling Team

Published

5 June 2024

Updated

4 December 2025

Read time

12 MIN

In this article

The General Retail Industry Award [MA000004] covers most of Australia’s retail workforce. And with it comes a long list of rules about how to hire people, roster them, and manage breaks correctly. If you've ever got lost in the details, you aren't the first and won't be the last!

In this guide, we summarise the important bits in an easy-to-understand way to make decoding the General Retail Award rostering rules and ensuring compliance a little less stressful.

General Retail Industry Award employment types

Under the General Retail Industry Award, people can work for you in a few different ways. Each setup has its own guidelines for hours, pay, and entitlements:

Full-time employees: Full-time retail staff usually work 38 ordinary hours a week. They’re ongoing employees and get the full bundle of entitlements, like paid leave, public holidays, and overtime work beyond their ordinary hours.
Part-time employees: Part-timers work fewer than 38 ordinary hours a week on a regular, predictable pattern. They get the same entitlements as full-time employees, just on a pro rata basis.
Casual employees: Casuals work as needed. They don’t have guaranteed hours or a fixed pattern of work. They get a 25% casual loading on top of the minimum hourly rate instead of entitlements like paid leave.
On-hire employees: Staff you hire from an agency may also fall under this award. They must receive at least the same minimum pay and conditions as the people you directly employ doing similar work.
Apprentices (and trainees placed through group training): Apprentices can work full-time, part-time, or on a school-based arrangement under a registered training contract. If a group training organisation places an apprentice or trainee with you, you still need to roster them and apply the award’s conditions for the level of work they perform.

Ordinary hours under the General Retail Award

The General Retail Industry Award outlines the rules for when employees can work ordinary hours, how long a shift can be, and how full-time, part-time, and casual staff fit into those limits. Here’s what you need to know before building any roster:

Span of hours

Under the General Retail Industry Award, employees can only work ordinary hours during the following times:

Monday to Friday: 7.00 a.m.—9.00 p.m.
Saturday: 7.00 a.m.—6.00 p.m.
Sunday: 9.00 a.m.—6.00 p.m.

There are a few exceptions:

Newsagencies can start ordinary hours from 5.00 a.m..
Video shops (yes, still in the award!) can work ordinary hours until midnight.
Any retailer with extended trading hours can roster ordinary hours until 11.00 p.m. on any day (i.e., late-night shopping or Sunday trading beyond the usual span).

Anything outside these spans becomes overtime.

Maximum hours per day

Ordinary hours must run as one continuous block (with rest breaks and meal breaks inside the shift). The daily limits are:

Up to nine ordinary hours per day
Up to 11 ordinary hours on one day per week

If a shift goes over this, the extra hours count as overtime.

Full-time employees

They can work 38 ordinary hours per week, or an average of 38 hours over an agreed roster cycle. This is typically up to four weeks, or longer by agreement.
Any hours over 38 per week (or the averaged period) count as overtime.

Part-time employees

These employees work fewer than 38 ordinary hours per week.
They must have an agreed pattern of work in writing that outlines their days, start and finish times, and minimum weekly hours.
You can't hire them for less than three hours at a time.
Any hours outside the agreed pattern count as overtime.

Casual employees

Casuals can work up to 38 ordinary hours per week (or averaged over a roster cycle).
The minimum shift length is three hours for most retail casuals. There are shorter options, but only for secondary school students.
Any hours they work over 38 hours (or averaged period) become overtime.

Shiftworkers

Shiftworkers are employees whom you specifically employ to work shifts that start at or after 6.00 p.m. and before 5.00 a.m. (or between midnight and 6.00 a.m. for baking production employees).

They can work up to 38 hours in a week (or averaged period).
Their ordinary hours are continuous and count from the moment the shift starts until it ends.
Overtime kicks in when they work over 38 hours in a week (or averaged period). It also applies if a part-time shiftworker works outside their agreed pattern of hours.

On-hire employees

Labour-hire staff follow the same ordinary-hours, minimum-engagement, and overtime rules as the classification they work under (full-time, part-time, or casual).

Apprentices and trainees

They can work up to 38 ordinary hours a week (or an averaged equivalent). This is as long as their hours stay within the award’s ordinary-hours span for the days they work.
School-based apprentices must fit their hours around training and schooling. But they also have to stay within the award’s span of hours and weekly ordinary-hour limits.

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16 General Retail Award rostering rules

In this section, you can find the key rostering rules that come directly from the Award, along with extra obligations that come from the National Employment Standards (NES) and Fair Work Act.

Award rules

These rules are from the award itself, and it's mandatory to adhere to them:

1. Set rosters in clear cycles and make sure they're easily accessible

You must build rosters in cycles of up to four weeks. This is unless you and an employee agree to a longer averaging period. The roster must show each person’s working days, start and finish times, and weekly ordinary hours.

You need to make the roster easy for everyone to access by either posting it in the workplace or making it available electronically. You also have to keep a copy of each completed roster for 12 months.

2. You can assess and review full-time hours once a year

When you first set up how your full-time staff will work their 38 ordinary hours, the award requires you to determine which averaging pattern best suits your business. For example, this could be a weekly pattern, a two-week cycle, a three-week cycle, a four-week cycle, or a longer period if the employee agrees.

After the initial setup, you don’t have to review it each year. But you can review it if you or a full-time employee requests this. This can happen once per year. If either party requests a review, you must:

reassess whether the current system still works,
consider alternative averaging options (like varying day lengths or RDO cycles), and
talk through any proposed changes with the employees affected, with the aim of reaching an agreement before you change anything.

3. In larger stores, you must limit the number of working days in a four-week cycle

If your establishment regularly employs 15 or more people, then you're not allowed to roster an employee to work ordinary hours on more than 19 days in a four-week roster cycle. If you want to roster them on for more than that, you’ll need a written agreement from the employee.

If your store has less than 15 employees, this rule doesn’t apply.

4. You can only roster five working days per week (except for the 6/4 option)

Generally, you need to limit most roster weeks to five working days. The award gives you one flexibility option: you can roster an employee to work six days in one week. If you do this, you have to balance it out by rostering them on no more than four days in the following week, though.

The award doesn’t allow seven-day stretches, under any circumstance.

5. Employees must receive regular consecutive days off

You must roster employees in a way that they receive either two consecutive days off each week or three consecutive days off in each two-week cycle. If an employee wants a different pattern, they need to ask for it in writing. And you must record the agreement. They can go back to the standard rule at any time with four weeks’ notice.

What really matters here is choice. The employee has to be the one who asks for a different arrangement. You can’t push, suggest, or pressure them into giving up their consecutive days off as part of getting the job or keeping it.

6. Extra protections apply if someone regularly works Sundays

If an employee regularly works Sundays, you must roster them so they get three consecutive days off, including Saturday and Sunday, at least once every four-week cycle. As with other variations, an employee can ask for a different setup in writing. You must record the agreement and allow them to revert with four weeks’ notice.

7. You can substitute rostered days off (RDOs) during emergencies

If you use RDOs for full-time staff, you can swap an RDO with another day (or half-day) when most affected employees agree. You can do this only when there’s a genuine reason. For example, a breakdown, power issue, sudden workload spike, or another emergency.

You can also move an individual employee’s RDO to another day if you both agree to the change.

8. You can bank up to five RDOs per year

You and an employee can agree to bank up to five RDOs per year. They can use those days later when it suits both of you.

9. You can change a roster before a shift (but only by agreement)

If something unexpected happens, you can change the roster for a full-time or casual employee before their shift starts. But only if both of you agree.

Part-time employees are different. As mentioned, they can only work the hours in their written, agreed pattern of work. So, if you want to change their roster, you must change their written pattern as well, and get their written agreement before the shift begins. If that doesn’t happen, you need to pay any extra hours as overtime, even if the employee verbally agreed.

10. Permanent roster changes need written notice

For full-time and casual employees, you can permanently change their roster by giving seven days’ written notice. You also need to talk to them about the change and consider their feedback as part of the consultation process.

If the employee disagrees with the change, the award extends the notice to 14 days. The change still happens. The longer notice period just gives the employee more time to adjust.

11. One-off roster changes may trigger overtime

If you make a one-off roster change for a non-emergency reason, and you go back to the original roster the next week, you must pay overtime for any extra time the employee worked because of that temporary change.

If the change is because of a genuine emergency, like a breakdown, a safety issue, or a power outage, that roster change doesn’t trigger automatic overtime. But you still need to pay overtime if the employee works more than their ordinary hours because of it.

12. You can’t change rosters to avoid penalties or entitlements

You can’t shuffle the roster to save on penalties. If the change reduces what someone should have earned, you still owe them the original penalty rates.

NES and Fair Work rules

13. Employees can request flexible working arrangements

The NES gives some employees the right to ask for flexibility at work. They may be carers, parents of school-aged children, employees aged 55 or older, people with disabilities, or employees dealing with family or domestic violence. You must discuss the request with them, consider it properly, and refuse only on reasonable business grounds. Any refusal must be in writing.

15. You must consult employees about major changes to hours or rosters

If you plan a major change that affects hours, like extending trading hours, restructuring roles, or making big roster shifts, you must consult with your team. Tell them what’s changing, explain why, and ask for their feedback. You then need to genuinely consider their views before making a final decision.

16. The Right to Disconnect applies

Employees can ignore work calls, texts, emails, and messages outside their working hours. This is unless refusing would be unreasonable in the circumstances. You can't pressure anyone to stay contactable after hours.

The Right to Disconnect rule now applies to all retail businesses, including small businesses.

General Retail Industry Award breaks and rest periods

The award explains exactly when retail employees must take rest breaks and meal breaks. These breaks depend on how many hours someone works in a single shift:

Rest and meal breaks (ordinary retail employees)

Hours worked in the shift	Paid rest breaks	Meal breaks
Less than 4 hours	None	None
4 to 5 hours	1 × 10-minute paid rest break	None
More than 5 and less than 7 hours	1 × 10-minute paid rest break	1 × 30–60 minute unpaid meal break
More than 7 and less than 10 hours	2 × 10-minute paid rest breaks (one in each half of the shift)	1 × 30–60 minute unpaid meal break
10 hours or more	2 × 10-minute paid rest breaks (one in each half of the shift)	2 × 30–60 minute unpaid meal breaks

Shiftworkers: All rest breaks and meal breaks for shiftworkers are paid and count as time worked.

Other break rules you must follow

You need to include rest breaks and meal breaks in the roster.
You must schedule breaks at times that actually allow the employee to rest.
You can't roster a rest break or a meal break within the first or last hour of work.
You can't add a rest break to a meal break to create one longer break.
Once an employee reaches the five-hour mark of their shift, they must take a meal break.

Minimum break between shifts

Employees must have at least 12 hours between finishing one day’s work and starting the next. If they don't, penalty rates apply.
You and an individual employee or a group of employees can agree to shorten the minimum break from 12 hours to 10 hours.

10 tips for smooth rostering under the General Retail Award

Here are some useful real-world habits that can help you stay compliant and keep your store running smoothly:

01
Build rosters around foot traffic
Foot traffic can vary a lot in retail. Use your Point of Sale data to map your super busy windows. For example, the 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. weekday lunch rush or the Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. peak browse time. When you roster based on these patterns, overtime drops, customers wait less, and your staff can stop feeling like they’re constantly underwater.
02
Match shift lengths to the work that needs doing
Not every shift needs to be the same length. Some parts of the day simply need more hands and more time than others. For example:
- Longer shifts work best for jobs that take time (big deliveries, merchandising, floor moves, and heavy restocking).
- Shorter shifts are perfect for busy service windows (lunchtime rushes, after-school spikes, and other quick bursts where you need bodies on the floor, not long blocks of labour).
If you match shift length to the type of work, your longer shifts won’t get wasted during quiet times, and your short shifts won’t get crushed during peak hours.
03
Pair personality types, not just skill levels
In retail, vibe matters a lot! A shift full of introverts can mean dead-floor energy. On the other hand, a shift full of big personalities can mean chaos at the till. Mixing work styles, like your 'talkers,' 'organisers,' and 'gets-things-done quietly' people, usually creates a much smoother shift than just focusing on experience levels.
04
Give new staff ‘shadow shifts’ in the first few weeks
When someone’s new, try to avoid throwing them into a roster gap. Let them shadow an experienced person on the same shift for at least a few shifts. This can reduce training time and the mistakes that cause rework, customer complaints, and safety issues.
05
Avoid knee-jerk roster cuts
Retail managers often panic-cut hours the second sales dip. While the award doesn’t stop you reducing rosters, sudden cuts typically lead to:
- break breaches (because fewer people = fewer chances to relieve someone)
- higher Workplace Health and Safety (WHS) risks
- missed sales because the floor is empty
It usually makes more sense to reduce hours gradually and use sales-per-labour-hour as your baseline metric.
06
Create an availability map before building any roster
Never guess. Ask for availability each quarter, or when uni/school timetables change. Write it down and have it verified. A definite availability map makes rostering faster and also cuts down on the 'Sorry, I can’t do that shift' messages that can mess up your week.
07
Put your best problem-solvers at the pressure points
Every store has its 'pressure tasks':
- opening rush
- closing chaos
- online order pickups
- delivery unpack
Aim to roster your most reliable people for these windows, even if they aren’t your most senior.
08
Forecast stockwork weeks in advance
Roster problems usually aren’t caused by service. More often than not, they’re caused by stock. When a delivery is going to be huge (season launch, Black Friday, Christmas, New Year, end of financial year), plan extra hands specifically for back-of-house. The award won’t stop you doing this, but failing to roster enough BOH staff almost guarantees break breaches.
09
Always have a 'Plan B' for last-minute dropouts
Build a simple fallback system:
- a WhatsApp/Teams backup group
- a casual talent pool you can call on
- pre-approved staff who are keen for last-minute shifts for extra money
Doing this can save you from breaching the award when you’re forced to stretch existing staff longer than what's allowed.
10
Train every manager on classification rules
Most retail compliance issues start here. Managers rarely know the difference between a part-timer’s agreed pattern, a casual’s minimum shift rules, a shiftworker's span of hours, and overtime triggers. Even just an hour of proper training can mitigate accidental breaches and potentially save you thousands in backpay!

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A practical example of General Retail Award rostering

Sophie manages a busy retail store in a major shopping centre. November comes around, Christmas stock arrives early, trading hours extend, and foot traffic doubles overnight. To keep up, Sophie stretches the roster, swaps shifts, and leans heavily on part-timers and casuals.

In the chaos of it all, she accidentally breaches several key General Retail Industry Award rules. Here’s what went wrong and exactly how she fixed it:

What went wrong

Part-timers were rostered outside their agreed pattern

Sophie let her part-time team pick up extra shifts, come in earlier, and stay later to deal with deliveries and customer demand. She didn’t update or record their revised hours in writing, though, which meant:

any hours outside their agreed pattern legally counted as overtime,
their roster no longer matched their minimum weekly hours, and
the award’s part-time rules were technically breached.

Too many working days in a roster cycle

Because business spiked, Sophie accidentally rostered several employees for more than five days in a week and for more than 19 days in a four-week cycle. This is against the law for stores with 15+ staff unless the employee/s signs a written agreement.

The team was enthusiastic and happy to help, but goodwill doesn’t override award rules.. even in peak season.

Breaks kept slipping past the five-hour limit

The rush pushed breaks back a few times. One team member also went over five hours without a meal break, which is a direct breach of the award.

No formal consultation before major roster changes

Extended trading hours meant Sophie shifted start times and finish times across the team. But she didn’t consult employees first. This is a requirement under the award when making significant changes to hours. Even if staff are onboard with the change, the employer must:

tell them what’s changing,
explain why, and
genuinely consider their views before locking anything in.

She simply skipped that step because things got too chaotic.

How Sophie fixed it

Updated every part-timer’s pattern of work

Sophie double-checked every part-timer’s agreed pattern (days, start/finish times, and minimum hours). If different hours were needed, she confirmed it in writing before the shift. A simple text did the trick and kept overtime and compliance on track.

Fixed her consultation process going forward

Sophie couldn’t undo the rushed changes, but she fixed the process moving forward. Whenever someone’s regular hours needed adjusting, she explained the change, checked how it affected them, and listened to their feedback before locking anything in.

She also documented each conversation and gave written notice for any permanent changes.

Used a scheduling tool to prevent break and span-of-hours breaches

Sophie adopted a scheduling tool with built-in General Retail Industry Award checks. The system flagged:

meal breaks going past the five-hour limit,
shifts that exceeded the nine- or 11-hour maximums,
roster cycles with too many working days, and
part-timers rostered outside their agreed patterns.

As a result, breaks were back on time, and compliance gaps became visible before they turned into costly breaches.

Rebalanced the roster to protect wellbeing and service quality

Sophie made simple but effective roster changes. She:

built in extra coverage during stock unloads,
mixed experienced staff with juniors on all shifts, and
kept a close eye on overtime midweek.

It stopped everyone from running on fumes, got breaks back on track, and made serving customers well much easier.

A smarter way to run effective rostering, payroll, and everything in between

Rippling makes retail workforce management simpler by putting HR, payroll, scheduling, and time tracking all in one place. Everything pulls from the same set of employee details too. So, nothing gets lost or missed along the way.

If you update someone’s hours or adjust a part-timer’s pattern, for example, Rippling pushes the update everywhere automatically, from rosters to timesheets and pay. And because it can interpret the General Retail Industry Award (and other modern awards), it flags issues before they become breaches.

Time worked flows straight into payroll too. This means the hours you approve are the hours that get paid, with penalties and loadings applied correctly in the background.

FAQs

Who does the General Retail Industry Award cover?

Most retail employees fall under this award. For example, shop assistants, cashiers, floor staff, stock controllers, team leaders, store supervisors, merchandisers, and retail shiftworkers. It also covers on-hire employees and apprentices working in retail environments.

How do I know if I’m paying the right minimum hourly rate?

First, match the employee’s everyday duties to the correct classification level in the award (this is where most errors happen). Then, check the latest pay guide. Note, Fair Work updates the minimum hourly rate every July. And remember that weekend penalties, late-night penalties, overtime, shiftwork rates, and casual loading (25%) all sit on top of the base rate when applicable.

What if an employee says no to a roster change?

It depends on the employment type.

Casuals can decline any shift. That’s just the nature of casual employment.
Part-timers can refuse any shift outside their agreed pattern of work. This is unless they agree to the change in writing before the shift starts.
Full-timers can refuse changes that aren’t reasonable or that don’t meet the award’s consultation rules. This is especially true for permanent roster changes that require written notice.

You can’t force the change. You must either:

stick to their original roster, or
treat the extra hours as overtime if the employee chooses to work them anyway.

In short, if an employee says no, the award doesn’t let you override them. You must follow the rules for that employment type.

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Disclaimer

Rippling and its affiliates do not provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide or be relied on for tax, accounting, or legal advice. You should consult your own tax, accounting and legal advisers before engaging in any related activities or transactions.