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Pay & Wages

Harris Farm Markets Pay Rates 2026: Store, Casual & Junior Pay

3 min read

What Harris Farm Markets workers should be paid in 2026 — the General Retail Industry Award floor by classification and age, casual loading, penalties, and where the Harris Farm Markets enterprise agreements sit.

MC

Leave & Entitlements Specialist · JD, Monash University — Admitted in Victoria (non-practising)

Who covers Harris Farm Markets workers — award or agreement?

Harris Farm Markets is a family-owned independent grocery chain built around fresh fruit and vegetables, with larger stores also running bakery, deli and other specialty departments. Store teams cover produce and grocery assistants, checkout staff and department specialists, with a mix of casual, part-time and full-time roles.

Store pay sits on the General Retail Industry Award 2020. Our corpus holds no current Harris Farm Markets enterprise agreement, so the award tables below are what should be on the payslip.

The federal awards relevant to Harris Farm Markets roles:

  • General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)

Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Harris Farm Markets Pty Ltd declared 3,256 employees — 63.4% casual and 46.7% women. Source: WGEA 2025 Public Data File, data.gov.au (CC-BY 3.0 AU).

Retail award floor — adults (21 and over)

From 1 July 2026 the General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004) adult minimums are:

ClassificationPermanentCasual (incl. 25%)
Retail Employee Level 1 (sales assistant, register, replenishment)$27.81/hr$34.76/hr
Retail Employee Level 2 (forklift, higher-skill work)$28.45/hr$35.56/hr
Retail Employee Level 3 (2IC, opening/closing, keyholder)$28.89/hr$36.11/hr
Retail Employee Level 4 (department or store management stream)$29.45/hr$36.81/hr

If you're 21 or older and your payslip shows less than Level 1, something is wrong.

Source: Fair Work Commission modern awards pay database, current-operative rates (1 July 2026 annual wage review). Casual figures add the 25% casual loading.

Junior rates (under 21)

The General Retail Industry Award pays juniors a percentage of the Level 1 adult rate. From 1 July 2026 the junior minimums are:

  • Under 16: $12.51/hr
  • 16 years: $13.91/hr
  • 17 years: $16.69/hr
  • 18 years: $19.47/hr
  • 19 years: $22.25/hr
  • 20 years (first 6 months with the employer): $25.03/hr
  • 20 years (after 6 months — full adult rate): $27.81/hr

Your rate must step up from the first full pay period after each birthday. Casual juniors add the 25% loading on top of these figures. An enterprise agreement's junior scale must leave you better off than this ladder overall.

Weekend and penalty rates

The retail award floor for permanent adult staff outside ordinary spans, at Level 1:

  • Saturday: 125% — $34.76/hr
  • Sunday: 150% — $41.71/hr
  • Public holiday: 225% — $62.57/hr

Casuals are paid 150% of the ordinary rate on Saturday, 175% on Sunday and 250% on public holidays (those percentages already include the casual loading). Overtime for permanents runs at 150% for the first three hours and 200% after. Price a specific roster with our penalty rates calculator.

Does Harris Farm Markets have an enterprise agreement?

As at 25 September 2026, our corpus of 14,141 federally registered enterprise agreements holds no current agreement for Harris Farm Markets. That usually means one of three things: the employer pays on the award (or on individual contracts above it), the agreement covering you is registered under a different entity name (check the employer name on your payslip and search our agreements database), or — for state public-sector employers — pay is set by a state award or agreement outside the federal register. If you have a copy of an agreement that names Harris Farm Markets, it beats the award figures above.

Common retail pay issues at Harris Farm Markets

The patterns worth checking on a Harris Farm Markets payslip:

  • Junior step-ups missed — birthday rises and the 20-year-old six-month step to the full adult rate.
  • Level 1 for higher-level work — keyholding, opening/closing, running a department or regularly supervising others is Level 3–4 territory.
  • Weekend penalties absorbed — a flat rate covering Saturday and Sunday shifts has to actually beat the penalty mix for your roster.
  • Unpaid time — till counts, close-downs, bag checks and stocktake after the doors shut are work time, and short casual shifts must meet the award's three-hour minimum.

What to do if your pay looks wrong

Match your payslip to your classification in the agreement (or the award tables above), and price any gap with our back-pay calculator. Raise it in writing with payroll or your manager first — most underpayments are fixed at that step. Unresolved, the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) recovers underpayments at no cost, up to six years back, and your union can run the claim for you. Not sure which instrument covers you? Ask our AI advisor with your role and location.

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General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.

MC
About Megan Cole

Former Fair Work Commission Associate (2021–2024) after two years as a plaintiff-side employment paralegal in Melbourne. Juris Doctor from Monash University (2020). Writes about unfair dismissal, leave entitlements, termination, and enterprise bargaining. Admitted in Victoria, currently non-practising. Based in Fitzroy North.