Pay & Wages
TK Maxx Pay Rates 2026: Store, Casual & Junior Pay
What TK Maxx workers should be paid in 2026 — the General Retail Industry Award floor by classification and age, casual loading, penalties, and where the TK Maxx enterprise agreements sit.
Who covers TK Maxx workers — award or agreement?
TK Maxx is the off-price fashion and homewares chain owned by the US group TJX, with large-format stores across the eastern states and South Australia. Store roles are dominated by casual and part-time associates working the floor, fitting rooms, registers and a constant flow of stock processing.
TK Maxx pay sits on the General Retail Industry Award 2020. The tables below give the current award floor by level and age, and the retail penalty rates that apply to weekend and public-holiday trading; any TJX enterprise agreement must leave you better off than these figures.
The federal awards relevant to TK Maxx roles:
- General Retail Industry Award 2020 (MA000004)
Workforce snapshot. In its 2024-25 report to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Tjx Australia Pty Limited declared 4,336 employees — 36.6% casual and 78.3% women, with 234 in management roles. 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:
| Classification | Permanent | Casual (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.
The TK Maxx enterprise agreements
Enterprise agreements set rates above the award, with their own classification structures and allowances. Current TK Maxx agreements in our corpus (1 in total):
- TJX Australia Marsden Park Agreement 2024 — approved December 2024, nominal expiry 1 August 2027.
We don't reproduce agreement dollar figures here — the agreement covering your site, state and stream is the document to read. Find your agreement, then your classification, then your pay point, and compare it with your payslip. The award tables on this page are the floor every one of these agreements must beat.
Retail pay issues worth checking on any payslip
General award-compliance issues that come up across the retail sector. This is a checklist for your own payslip, not a finding about TK Maxx:
- 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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FairWork Mate is an independent Australian publisher of workplace-rights information. Our content is prepared with AI assistance and draws on primary sources — the Fair Work Act, modern awards, and Fair Work Commission and Fair Work Ombudsman material. It is general information, not legal advice.