My Hospitality Roster Changed at the Last Minute — Am I Still Paid?

It depends on the circumstances — but in most cases, yes. The Hospitality Award has provisions about roster changes, minimum engagement, and when workers are entitled to be paid for a shift that's cancelled or changed at short notice. Being told at the last minute that you're not needed doesn't always mean you can be sent home unpaid.

If your hospitality roster has been changed or cancelled without adequate notice — this applies to you.

The rule

Under the Hospitality Award (MA000009):

• Casual employees must be paid for a minimum of 3 hours per engagement, even if they arrive and are sent home early. If you arrived for a rostered shift and were sent home after an hour, you're owed 3 hours' pay at the applicable rate.
• Permanent employees have rostered ordinary hours. Significant changes to rosters require reasonable notice — typically 7 days under the award's rostering provisions, though operational requirements can apply.
• Overtime triggered by a roster change — if you're called in on a day you weren't rostered and it pushes your week past 38 hours, those extra hours are overtime.

What you should be paid

If you were sent home and paid for less than 3 hours, Check what your shifted roster should pay →

What this costs you

If you arrived for a rostered Saturday shift and were sent home after 1 hour, you're owed 3 hours at the Saturday casual rate — not 1 hour at the weekday rate. The difference on a single instance is often $60–$90. If this happens regularly, the cumulative shortfall is significant.

What to check on your payslip

• Were you paid for at least 3 hours on any shift where you were sent home early?
• If you were called in at short notice and it created overtime, does overtime appear on your payslip?

Frequently asked questions

Don't guess — check what you're owed.