Do I have to be paid for time before my shift starts?

Yes. If your employer requires you to be there — opening the store, setting up equipment, till counts, handovers, compulsory pre-shift meetings — that time is work under the Fair Work Act and must be paid at your proper rate. The same applies to required tasks after your rostered finish, bag or security checks, and breaks you were made to work through.

How far back can I claim unpaid minutes?

Up to 6 years. Section 544 of the Fair Work Act 2009 lets you bring an underpayment claim for wages that fell due within the previous 6 years. Ten minutes a day for years is a four-figure claim — this calculator caps its count at the 312-week window so the figure matches what a court could actually award.

Is superannuation owed on unpaid work time?

Yes — unpaid minutes that are ordinary hours attract the 12% Super Guarantee on top of the wages. The ATO's back-pay rule works in your favour: super is calculated at the rate current when the back pay is actually paid — 12% now — even for minutes worked years ago under lower SG rates. If the minutes are properly overtime, super generally doesn't apply because overtime is not ordinary time earnings, but the overtime rate itself is higher.

Are a few unpaid minutes a day really worth claiming?

Run the numbers: 10 minutes a shift, 5 shifts a week at the 2026-27 Retail Award Level 1 adult rate of $27.81/hour is about $1,246 including super over a 48-week working year — per employee. Over the 6-year recovery window it's several thousand dollars, before any overtime uplift.

What evidence do I need for an unpaid time claim?

Anything showing when you actually started and finished versus what you were paid for: rosters against clock-in records, door or alarm codes, messages telling you to arrive early or stay back, CCTV timestamps, and your own contemporaneous diary. Export this calculator's result as your running total, then raise it in writing with your employer first.

Unpaid Minutes Calculator

Unpaid pre-shift setup, bag checks and after-close minutes add up. Calculate the wages and super you're owed — recoverable up to 6 years back.

Last verified: 23 August 2026

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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.

Unpaid Minutes Calculator

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