Key takeaways
Under the General Retail Industry Award, a full-time employee works an average of 38 ordinary hours per week under an agreed hours-of-work arrangement.
Under the Award, a part-time employee works fewer than 38 ordinary hours, with a written agreement covering hours, start and finish times, and breaks.
Under the Award, casual employees get a 25% casual loading instead of some permanent entitlements, but keep other National Employment Standards (NES) entitlements.
Getting the balance of part-time vs full-time retail staff right starts with understanding your demand patterns and rostering to match them.
If you run a retail store in Australia, you've probably asked yourself a familiar question. Should you hire more full-time staff, part-time staff, or casuals? Choosing between part-time vs full-time retail staff comes down to your trading patterns, your labour budget, and how much flexibility you need.
Retail work is growing steadily. Deputy's Big Shift Report 2026 found retail shift jobs now sit around 36% above pre-COVID-19 levels. That growth makes building the right team a real priority.
This guide walks you through the legal definitions, leave entitlements, superannuation obligations, and real costs, so you can make confident staffing decisions.
How Australian law defines full-time and part-time retail employees
Before hiring, you should check the Fair Work Act, the NES, and any applicable Modern Award or enterprise agreement. For employees covered by the General Retail Industry Award, the Award sets specific rules for full-time, part-time, and casual employment. These rules can affect hours, pay, leave, rostering, and termination, so you should check which workplace instrument applies to each employee.
Full-time retail employees under the General Retail Industry Award
Under the General Retail Industry Award, you engage a full-time employee to work an average of 38 ordinary hours per week. This runs in accordance with an agreed hours-of-work arrangement.
Full-time employees also fall under the NES. Depending on the employee and circumstances, NES entitlements can include:
Paid annual leave of four weeks a year, with an extra week for some shiftworkers
Paid personal and carer's leave of 10 days a year
Public holiday entitlements
Notice of termination, and redundancy pay where applicable
Parental leave and related entitlements
Paid family and domestic violence leave of 10 days a year
Other NES entitlements may also apply.
Full-time employees provide a relatively consistent base of ordinary hours. Even so, rosters, penalty rates, overtime, leave, allowances, and other costs can still change what you pay each week.
Part-time retail employees and the written agreement requirement
Under the General Retail Industry Award, you engage a part-time employee to work fewer than 38 ordinary hours per week. Those hours are reasonably predictable.
The Award applies to part-time employees in the same way as full-time employees, except where it expressly provides otherwise. Part-time employees receive annual leave and paid personal/carer's leave based on their ordinary hours of work. Other entitlements can differ; for example, you don't pro-rate paid family and domestic violence leave for part-time employees.
Under the Award, you and the part-time employee agree in writing on a regular pattern of work when they start. That written agreement includes:
The number of hours the employee will work on each particular day of the week, known as their guaranteed hours
The employee's start and finish times on each particular day
When the employee may take meal breaks, and how long they last
The Award requires you to keep a copy of the agreement and any applicable variations. It also sets rules for varying an employee's regular pattern of work.
You generally pay the applicable overtime rate when an employee works beyond their guaranteed hours, as agreed or varied under the Award. Other circumstances can also trigger overtime, so check the current Award when changing a part-time employee's hours.
Where casual employment fits in your retail mix
In Australian retail, the workforce question goes beyond full-time versus part-time. Casual employment is the third piece of the mix, and knowing what casual employees are entitled to matters just as much. Casuals are a big part of the labour market, making up 19% of all employees in August 2025.
What casual loading means for your retail wage bill
Under the General Retail Industry Award, a casual employee generally receives a 25% loading on top of the minimum hourly rate. This applies to each ordinary hour worked.
You pay the loading instead of certain entitlements the Award and NES exclude for casual employees. Casual employees keep other NES entitlements.
The current General Retail Industry Award rates vary by classification, age, employment type, day, and time worked. Check Fair Work's latest pay guide or Pay and Conditions Tool for exact figures. Award rates can change following annual wage reviews and other Award variations.
The amount payable can also change for weekend, public holiday, overtime, and other work covered by penalty or overtime provisions. Check the applicable General Retail Industry Award rate rather than simply adding 25% to a permanent employee's penalty rate. The Award specifies the rates that apply to casual employees.
Changing from casual to permanent employment: what retail employers should know
The rules for changing from casual to permanent employment changed from 26 August, 2024. The current NES include an employee choice pathway.
An eligible casual employee can notify their employer in writing that they want to change to full-time or part-time employment. They can do this if they believe they no longer meet the casual employee definition.
Generally, an eligible casual can use the pathway after at least 6 months of employment, or 12 months with a small business employer. Under current Fair Work guidance, eligible employees of non-small-business employers could use the pathway from 26 February, 2025. Eligible employees of small-business employers could use it from 26 August, 2025, subject to any updated legislative guidance.
You must follow the applicable rules when responding to an employee choice notice. You can only refuse a notice on grounds permitted by the Fair Work Act. These can include:
that the employee still meets the casual employee definition
that there are fair and reasonable operational grounds for not accepting the notice
that accepting it would mean you wouldn't comply with a recruitment or selection process required by law
Check current Fair Work guidance when responding, as eligibility and response requirements depend on the circumstances.
Retail Award minimum engagement and shift length
Under the General Retail Industry Award, the minimum daily engagement for a part-time employee is generally three consecutive hours.
For casual employees, the minimum daily engagement is generally three hours. The Award includes an exception for certain full-time secondary school students.
It allows a 1.5-hour minimum engagement in set circumstances, for work between 3:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on a school day. This applies where the employee and employer meet the Award's other requirements.
Minimum-engagement rules can affect the cost of short shifts, so check the Award requirements before building or changing them. Rostering software can help you review configured minimum-engagement rules before you publish a roster.
Check the current Award before rostering short shifts, as the minimum engagement depends on the employee and circumstances.
Comparing part-time vs full-time retail staff at a glance
Sometimes you just want the summary. This table compares the three employment types across the points that most affect your roster and your wage bill.
