New minimum wage guarantee for pieceworkers
3 February 2022 | Updated 27 June 2022
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From the first pay period on or after 28 April 2022, there is a new minimum wage guarantee and new record keeping requirements for pieceworkers under the Horticulture Award.
Learn more below about:
- summary of changes to the Horticulture Award
- our updated website information
- what free resources we have for employers and employees
Summary of changes to the Horticulture Award
New piece rate rules
Under the Horticulture Award, full-time, part-time or casual employees can be paid a piece rate for performing a task. The piece rate has to allow for the average competent worker to earn the equivalent of at least 15% above the minimum hourly rate for the employee’s classification. For casuals, the minimum hourly rate includes the casual loading.
There are also new definitions covering competent pieceworkers, minimum hourly rate for a pieceworker, and the average productivity of a competent pieceworker.
Minimum wage guarantee
From the first pay period on or after 28 April 2022, workers paid a piece rate are guaranteed a minimum wage for each day that they work. This is called a ‘minimum wage guarantee’. Affected pieceworkers have to be paid a minimum amount for the hours that they work each day. This change applies to full-time, part-time and casual employees.
New record-keeping obligations
Employers have new record-keeping obligations for pieceworkers, including that they record the hours worked by a pieceworker and the piece rates applied.
Updated website information
We have extensive information on our dedicated horticulture website about the new rules. This includes:
- new piecework rules and definitions
- how the minimum wage guarantee works in practice
- record-keeping obligations for employers.
Go to the Horticulture Showcase now.
Free templates and resources
To help employers and employees, we’ve created helpful templates and resources, including a:
- piecework rules have changed information sheet explaining the piecework changes. (For translated information sheets, see Migrant workers)
- piecework record template to easily create a piecework record that meets the award requirements
- piecework timesheet template to record an employee’s hours of work and piece rate.
Access these free resources from our Horticulture Showcase now.
More information
To learn more, you can go to the Fair Work Commission website to read the decision 
and final determination .
You can also read the Commission’s November 2021 decision summary .