Yahoo Finance British hospitality worker can't believe 'insane' casual pay rate in Australia over Easter
Tara says working minimum wage still allows her to afford rent, food and a good life.
A British woman working in Australia has been blown away by the pay rate on a public holiday.
Tara has worked the majority of her 20s in the corporate world, however, after packing her bags and heading to Australia a few months ago, she decided to go into hospitality as a restaurant host to give herself a break from her previous role. She’s been loving it ever since.
But one thing she has been particularly surprised about is the pay difference between here and London. The 29-year-old said it was “mad” how minimum wage and penalty rates work in Australia and that she could “afford rent and food” and still have a decent life here.
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Over the Easter long weekend, Tara worked a 12-hour shift, which she said was paying $65 an hour.
“That is like paying for almost half my rent in one shift,” she said in a video. “Like, that's paying for my Glastonbury ticket and more in one shift. It's just insane. [Australia is] an actual place where you can earn very, very, very good money and just have a very sick time while you’re doing it.
“I literally love that I’ve gone into hospitality and not back into my corporate job because I’m just having loads of fun.”
Workers can earn more than their base hourly rate thanks to penalty rates, however, that rate depends on what type of contract they’re on and what industry they’re working in. Workers can get a higher rate if they work on a public holiday, a weekend, doing overtime or working a night shift.
While some people in the comments section of her video said she would get heavily taxed on those earnings, she said she’d only just crossed into the second tax bracket with a few months left in the financial year.
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Tara started working in November and has already earned more than $19,000 since then. She said she’d done four public holidays already and had another one lined up this month.
However, those big paydays working in hospitality are few and far between in Australia. There are fewer than a dozen public holidays per year in Australia, depending where you live.
One person replying to Tara’s video said: “What she's forgetting to mention is how inconsistent these hours actually are. It's only bliss if you had a wad of cash behind you in the first place or parents to call for cash handouts back home.”
While her job wants her to switch to a full-time contract, she’s enjoying her casual hours and has plans to travel in June thanks to the money she’s earned.
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