Courtesy of Mish.
It's time once again to take a look at happenings down under. Restaurants are closing en masse rather than pay double time and a half to stay open on holidays.
Please consider Penalties blamed for taking high-end dining off menu.
The annual survey of the 7500- member Restaurant and Catering Australia reveals a 33 per cent jump since 2011 in the numbers of restaurateurs saying they cannot afford to open on public holidays.
Public holiday penalty rates require employers to pay double time and a half, equating to pay rates of at least $40 an hour.
Robert Marchetti, executive chef of Sydney's Icebergs Dining Room and Bar and North Bondi Italian Food and owner of highly acclaimed restaurants in Sydney and Melbourne, said some of his businesses – including Neild Avenue – would be closed today, while those that opened would be providing a "public service".
"The government are a bunch of monkeys who don't understand business," he said.
"We're not living in the 1960s anymore. Australia has its head stuck up its arse on IR.
Following ACTU Secretary Dave Oliver's Christmas Eve call for the Fair Work Act to be changed to enshrine penalty rates as a minimum entitlement, United Voice liquor and hospitality division Secretary Tara Moriarty said the issue was one the industry raised every public holiday.
"Penalty rates haven't made the sky fall in yet, despite them constantly making suggestions to the contrary," she said.
Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association national secretary Joe De Bruyn said the closure of some businesses on public holidays would simply mean more business for the restaurants that stayed open.
"Penalty rates have been part of workers' entitlements for decades," he said.
Unions were awaiting the outcome of a Fair Work Australia hearing on penalty rates. "While the unions put up a very strong case for preserving penalty rates, the employers' case was a pathetic performance," Mr De Bruyn said.
Double-Time and a Half Insanity
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