Fair Work Commission Annual Wage Review

The annual wage review for 2020/2021 by the Fair Work Commission has been released. National Minimum Wage is increasing by 2.5% to $20.33 per hour from 1 July 2021 up from $19.84 per hour, and modern award rates will also increase by 2.5% though as with the previous year, the Fair Work Commission has delayed the increase for certain industries that were hard hit by the pandemic like aviation, fitness and tourism.

There are three dates that the wage increase will take effect from, depending on which category the employee fits into. The first being the first full pay period after 1 July 2021, with the second and third being 1 September 2021 and 1 November 2021 respectively.

If you have an Enterprise agreement, the increase announced may still affect you as employees on Enterprise agreements cannot be paid less than the minimum base rate under an applicable modern award. It would be recommended to review the rates under the EA and compare this to the rate an employee would receive under the award.

The full decision can be found on the Fair Work Commission website https://www.fwc.gov.au/awards-agreements/minimum-wages-conditions/annual-wage-reviews/annual-wage-review-2020-21/decisions