Pizza Hut Surcharge | Penalty Rates for Employees
Anzac Day, 2007 and my family wanted Pizza for dinner. I had noticed on the voucher that a surcharge of 10% of the total cost of my pizzas would have to be paid. It was a public holiday and paying an extra 10% was a fair thing to pay. The guys and gals working today, deserved the extra pay, so I was quite willing to pay Pizza Huts Public holiday surcharge.
I ordered 3 $4.95 Large pizzas from my local Pizza Hut (Christies Beach, South Australia), I had ordered them online and my wife and I had gone down to pick them up 20 minutes later. It was quite busy and while waiting I asked Lisa(my wife) “do you think these young people get a penalty rate today?”. “I don’t think so, not since the new Industrial Relations laws introduced came in” she replied. “Well, then why are we paying a surcharge”? I responded. She went on to say she wasn’t sure, but thought it was a ripoff, if the staff didn’t get the extra money, seeing the surcharge was charged.
Mmmmmmm, I might ask the guy at the counter, do you get more money today?
It was our turn to get our pizzas. That will be $14.80 sir and a $1.48 public holiday surcharge. Ok, I was willing to pay the surcharge and I did. I then asked the lad if he got paid more on public holidays and he replied “you have to be joking”, we get the same wage everyday.
I saw red! I then asked, why are you charging me and extra 10% then? Mmmm, I don’t know he told me. Ok, then I want to speak to the supervisor. He called over his shift supervisor and said I wanted to ask her a question.
Excuse me miss I asked, But do you staff get extra money on a public holiday, she replied yes and then quickly turned around an walked off. The rest of the counter staff looked bewildered and said, no we don’t.
Now I don’t know who to believe. If the staff are right and they get no more money for working a public holiday, then we are being ripped off by Pizza Hut, from an old wage system(pre new work relationship agreements) that now does not take into consideration that Pizza Hut maqy not pay penalty rates.
If this is true, then Pizza Hut has profited from the system and basically frauded us into beleiving that the surcharge is paid to the staff on public holidays.
On the other side, the staff may have told me an untruth and that means that this whole topic is for nothing and that Pizza Hut is a responsible employee and should be respected as such. But I wonder, if what the staff tell me is true and that Pizza Hut is pocketing the surcharge, profiting from the gullibilty of their cutomers and denying the surcharge from their employees.
I am going to follow this up and find out the truth for myself. I will keep you informed of my findings and if Pizza Hut is ripping the cutomers and employees off, I will be yelling from the highest hill.
April 25th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
See below pay info on pizza hut. I had the same concerns. All depends on normal rostering, but I gather most of the young staff don’t really look at or understand their rights. from my understanding they should get double time.
The URL for this is http://www.airc.gov.au/consolidated_awards/at/at792506/asframe.html
AT792506 - Pizza Hut - SDA National Employee Relations Award 2000 [Transitional]
27. PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
27.1 Full-time and part-time employees will be entitled to the following public holidays without loss of pay:
Christmas Day;
Boxing Day;
New Years Day;
Australia Day;
Good Friday;
Easter Saturday (or Show Day in Tasmania);
Easter Monday;
Anzac Day;
Labour Day or Eight Hour Day;
The Birthday of the Reigning Sovereign;
Union Picnic Day as follows:
Tasmania - Hobart Regatta Day (South of Oatlands) or Recreation Day elsewhere;
New South Wales and Victoria - Melbourne Cup Day;
Northern Territory - Picnic Day;
ACT - the first Monday in March;
or such other day as is agreed between the Branch Secretary of the Union and the employer.
27.2 Where throughout a State or Territory public holidays are declared or prescribed on days other than those set out in 27.1 above, those days shall constitute additional holidays for the purpose of this award.
27.3 A full-time employee whose non-working day falls on a public holiday will receive by mutual agreement:
27.3.1 another day off in lieu to be taken within 28 days of the holiday;
27.3.2 an additional day’s pay; or
27.3.3 an extra day added to annual leave.
The above shall not apply to Anzac Day when it falls on a weekend, or to Easter Saturday.
27.4 A part-time employee for whom a public holiday falls on a day of the week that forms part of the employee’s regular roster cycle but is not rostered to work on the holiday shall be entitled to:
27.4.1 another day off in lieu to be taken within 28 days of the holiday;
27.4.2 an additional day’s pay; or
27.4.3 an extra day added to annual leave.
27.5 Where days other than those listed in 27.1 above have special significance due to an employee’s religious or cultural beliefs, the employer and an employee may agree to substitute alternative days.
27.6 Excepting where it has been agreed to change the day a holiday is observed, all work done by weekly employees on any of the holidays prescribed in this clause shall be paid at the rate of double time. Casuals (other than ‘Method B’ delivery drivers) shall receive a total of 200% of the ordinary hourly classification rate for work on the day.
27.7 Where an employee is absent from employment on the working day before or after a public holiday without reasonable excuse or without the consent of the employer, the employee shall lose the entitlement to payment for one public holiday for each day so absent.
27.8 For the purpose of this clause, ‘day’ shall mean the average number of daily hours worked by the employee in the four weeks immediately prior to the day on which the holiday falls.
April 25th, 2007 at 8:56 pm
Thanks for the information David. I will chase it up further and post my results here.
May 31st, 2007 at 5:14 am
i am a shift supervisor (manager) and a kitchenhand in a nsw store.
i can tell you now, yes we do get penalty rates on public holidays.
it is the only time this occurs.
staff in this instance may have not been fully informed, but it should be displayed on the roster.
they dont come around too often, so you do notice the difference on your pay slip.
i have worked here for the past four years, and that entire time if i had shifts on public holidays they were payed at double time.
June 4th, 2007 at 2:04 am
I work in the Sydney call center and on public holidays we get paid double time, as should anyone else working under the NSW SDA Award (which should be everyone).
Don’t know about SA though, and I know that during Easter a small minority (like 1 or 2) of Victorian stores were not doing the surcharge. Whether those stores were paying extra on those days, I don’t know.
June 6th, 2007 at 1:51 am
Thankyou for the replies. The information has been very helpful to alot of our visitors.
August 19th, 2007 at 11:57 pm
My 18 year old daughter has worked at Pizza Hut since she was 14 and has never received anything extra for working on Public Holidays including Good Friday.
November 5th, 2008 at 9:28 pm
Under the old SDA agreement, penalty rates were required to be paid to staff who worked public holidays. When the AWA’s were brought in, most staff were transferred over to the new agreements which do not include penalty rates or overtime, or a lot of the other benefits that were previously provided. Just because you received penalty rates for the last 5 years, that means nothing now the award has changed. I have worked several shifts in various roles (driver, manager), and never received penalty rates in the entire 5 years Ive been with pizza hut.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:28 am
Hi there
I am all for surcharges, but where it is valid. I had Dominos in Leederville Perth try and charge me a 10% surchage for ANZAC Day! first up, its NOT a public holiday, thats on Monday (where staff can get better rates whilst others take a day off), its your typical Saturday - in this instance it is a complete rip off.
Throughout the day I also visited Maccas, 2x local cafes for lunch and arvo coffee - SURCHARGE? - ZERO!
Regards
Ck
April 25th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Chris Anzac day, no matter what day it falls on is a Public Holiday and staff that worked that day should be paid their penalties. But my concern is that the owner of the Dominos fanchise will not pass on the penaliies to their workers.
So often I have gone to a takeaway, been charged penalities for my food because it was a public holiday and then when I asked a staff member who gave me the food if they were being paid extra for working that day, they laughed and said , mate the Boss says we don’t get anything extra for the day and the penalities are for paying for transport costs because its a Public Holday.
Too often some takeaway places blatantly ripoff their young staff, that are ignorant to their rights and often work their solely to pay for their fun times after school and work.
To say that all employers look after their staff and would not ripoff the public to make an extra buck is plainly a lie. I always make a fuss if i think Im being ripped off or I think the young person behind the counter is being ripped off.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
I am a student and current Pizza Hut employee (kitchen hand), and have been for almost two years. Since the day I began, the company has never paid any penalty rates on Sundays or on Public Holidays. Pizza Hut claims that the everyday wage is slightly higher due to a penalty rate being ‘averaged’ over the course of a year in this pay. I find this hard to believe as our wages are still immensely low. Hopefully the SDA’s proposed new Pizza Hut award will be voted on. It includes a 10%+ pay rise for all employees and on top of this a 10% penalty rate on all Public Holidays and also Sundays. If successful, this will come into effect on July 1st 2009
July 16th, 2009 at 8:56 am
hey i know this is like 3 years old but,
i work at pizza hut and have been there for a year
im also fairly competent and know the ins and outs of pizza hut
we dont get the extra for a public holiday.. i think its bullshit lol
July 16th, 2009 at 9:00 am
i am in South Australia though
July 20th, 2009 at 2:17 am
From what I can gather, getting any bonus for Public holidays is a hit or miss affair. Some will get the surcharge while others are told that their wagesd are averaged.
I have been in the workforce for more than 35 years and in that time I have never come across a legit company that ever claimed that my wages were slightly higher and averaged out to cover overtime and public holidays.
I have come across many companies that have tried it on me with bullshit reasons for paying me so low, but a quick call to the Union usually cleared things up for me.
The fact of the matter young people of Australia, big and small companies all over the country will try and rip you off. They prey on the fact you are ignorant in experience and fear of being ridiculed. You are entitltled to be paid more if you are asked to do more. If your companies charges a cutomers a surcharge for Public holidays and you dont get any of it, that company is blatantly ripping you off and you should stick up for yourself. Tell your parents or ring a Union, any Union and ask them what you are entitled to. Don’t just take it.
However, if the company you work for does pay you what you are entitled to, this company deserves your respect and loyalty.
July 29th, 2009 at 5:05 am
hey. iv worked at pizza hut at northpark (SA) for almost 3 years now. in those 3 years i know that we havent been getting any penalty rates on public holidays, although about a week ago all pizza hut staff voted to the sda on a new agreement so that our pay increases and we now get 10% xtra on public holidays.
so that has started now…..