Senator Xenophon said that the weekend penalty rates were "killing small businesses", with many businesses no longer able to stay open every day. He also said that these rates acted as a disincentive for businesses to hire casual workers, particularly students.
He proposed an amendment whereby an employee would only be eligible for double pay on Sundays if he/she worked more than 38 hours in seven days or more than 10 hours in a day. Only small businesses with less than 20 full-time employees would be eligible under his proposed bill.
