Weekend penalty rates and roster estimates
Saturday and Sunday rates are set by the award or agreement, and they differ by award, type of employment and time of day. How to find them, and how a roster estimate uses the rates you look up without interpreting the award.
General information only, not legal advice. Rules differ between awards, agreements, contracts and states, and what applies depends on the employee. Check the official source, and ask a workplace relations professional when it matters.
The short answer
Penalty rates for weekend work are set by the award or enterprise agreement that covers an employee. They often differ between Saturday and Sunday, between casual and permanent employees, and by time of day.
Roster Flow does not work out penalty rates. It multiplies rostered hours by the multipliers a business enters, which gives an estimate of the week’s cost, not a pay calculation.
| What a roster estimate needs | Where it comes from |
|---|---|
| Each person’s base rate | Their pay record, set under the award or agreement |
| A Saturday multiplier | The award’s penalty rates clause, looked up by you |
| A Sunday multiplier | The same clause |
| A public holiday multiplier | The award’s public holiday rates |
| Casual loading | The award, including how it combines with penalty rates |
Official sources
Check the rule against these, in their current versions, before relying on it.
| Source | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Fair Work Ombudsman: find my award | The penalty rates clause in the award that applies |
| Fair Work Ombudsman: public holiday penalty rates | How award-based public holiday rates work |
Worked examples
General examples of where to look. They are not advice about any particular employee.
| Situation | What to check |
|---|---|
| A cafe enters made-up multipliers of 1.25 for Saturday and 1.5 for Sunday | The estimate uses those numbers exactly. Whether they match the award is a separate check |
| A casual works a Sunday | How the award combines casual loading with the Sunday rate |
| A shift runs from Saturday night into Sunday morning | Which rate applies to which hours under the award |
Employer checklist
- Find the award or agreement for each employee
- Look up weekend and public holiday rates for each type of employment
- Enter the multipliers in your roster costing, and note the date you checked
- Check again when the award changes, including after each annual wage review
- Let payroll work out what is actually paid
What Roster Flow records, and what it does not decide
- An estimated wage cost, using the rates and multipliers you enter
- Holiday shifts costed at the public holiday multiplier you enter
- What anybody is paid, including penalty rates, loadings and overtime
- Whether the multipliers you enter match the award
Review log
13 September 2026: written by Roster Flow from the structure of the National Employment Standards and modern awards.
18 September 2026: every statement on this page checked against the official sources it names, by Roster Flow. It is general information, not advice from a workplace relations professional.
What that check covers, and what to confirm for your own situation:
- How the common awards combine casual loading with weekend penalty rates
- When annual wage review changes usually take effect
- That every source link opens the current version of the source
Questions
What do the rules say about weekend penalty rates?
Penalty rates for weekend work are set by the award or enterprise agreement that covers an employee. They often differ between Saturday and Sunday, between casual and permanent employees, and by time of day.
Is there more to weekend penalty rates than that?
Roster Flow does not work out penalty rates. It multiplies rostered hours by the multipliers a business enters, which gives an estimate of the week’s cost, not a pay calculation.
Does Roster Flow decide weekend penalty rates for me?
No. It does not interpret an award and it does not work out what anybody is paid. What anybody is paid, including penalty rates, loadings and overtime stays with the business and its own advisers, and this page is general information rather than advice about your situation.
Where do the rules on weekend penalty rates come from?
Fair Work Ombudsman: find my award, covering the penalty rates clause in the award that applies. Fair Work Ombudsman: public holiday penalty rates, covering how award-based public holiday rates work. Read them in their current versions before you rely on anything here, because they change.