Ask any retailer in Australia about managing payroll, and you’ll hear the same thing. The act of balancing Awards, hours, allowances and compliance can be incredibly tough. And that’s before we even talk about superannuation.
This makes it difficult for an industry like yours that is built on flexibility. Your employees bounce between roles and shifts, so figuring out overtime and penalty rates is on you, as is making sure that everything is recorded accurately. It’s not just the complexity of it that’ll get you; it’s that the penalties for getting it wrong are pretty stiff.
Take a typical roster for a retail business. A retail assistant works a late night, then a weekend shift, and then a one-off stocktake, all within the same pay cycle. To get their pay right, you must apply the Award rules, calculate multiple penalty rates and ensure that their superannuation and payslip details get logged. It’s honestly not surprising that so many retailers end up being hit with heavy fines.
We’ve partnered with all kinds of retailers with all kinds of rosters. Here are some of the common mistakes we’ve helped to correct:
Misapplying the Award
You’re a retail employer, so you need to check the General Retail Industry Award 2020 and then use the correct classification and apply the right rates, penalties, overtime, and allowances. Then rinse and repeat for different types of staff.
Failing to track actual hours worked
You may have casual staff, but you can’t be casual about timekeeping. Fair Work has stringent requirements regarding accurate records for your staff members, and these must be kept for up to seven years. In the retail environment, staff could conceivably rotate through casual, part-time or manager shifts, and lax timekeeping can lead to unintentional underpayment.
Thinking that superannuation is easy to correct later
Employers must pay the super guarantee quarterly for all employees who are eligible. This must all be done by the due dates to avoid extra charges. Errors can also happen when the wrong fund is used, or the super is not calculated on the correct earnings base. This can end up being a nightmare to correct later.
Misclassifying workers
If somebody is working as a contractor when they should be working as an employee, you can miss PAYG withholding and Fair Work obligations. This matters a lot in retail, where casual staff, seasonal staff, and labour-hire workers can sometimes make the line between employee and contractor blurry.
Getting payslips wrong
Payslips need to be provided within a working day of payday and must include certain key information. Late or unclear payslips can cause problems with employees and make it much harder for businesses to prove compliance.
Delayed payroll updates
Your payroll system needs to be up-to-date at all times. If an employee changes roles or legislation changes, your payroll setup needs to be updated immediately. Retailers who operate from multiple locations can be particularly susceptible to this.
The danger of these kinds of mistakes
This may all seem purely administrative, but Fair Work doesn’t mess around. It can issue significant fines for problems with record-keeping or underpayment. The Fair Work Ombudsman also reports that intentional underpayment became a criminal offence from the beginning of 2025. Honest mistakes are not criminal, but employers still need to demonstrate that any errors were unintentional through proper records and systems.
The consequences are real and recent. In March 2026, KFC and 89 of its Australian franchisees agreed to pay $28.8 million to settle a class action: not for wage theft, but for failing to provide a 10-minute rest break. Ninety thousand workers. Six years of shifts. One oversight repeated at scale. McDonald’s is now facing a similar claim covering an estimated 300,000 workers. For retailers and franchise operators, the message is clear: compliance isn’t just an admin issue, it’s a financial liability.
How retailers can reduce risk
Retail and franchise businesses are particularly vulnerable to payroll-related problems. iWS provides the systems, visibility and support needed to reduce risk, improve accuracy and keep your payroll running smoothly. Experience our platform with a personalised demo.
