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If you start work at 9am, can your employer require you to be there at five to?
A Sydney hair salon featured in Australian news coverage last week when the owner told staff they had to be punctual.
In a staff meeting posted on Tiktok, the owner, identified at Jessica Mina, told staff at Sheshwarz salon in Roselands that she hated when they walked in at the time they started.
“If you start at 9.30 or you start at 10 or you start at 12, be here ready to work at 12.
“I’m not asking you to come 20 minutes early but have your bag put down, your coffee put down and you’re ready to start your 9.30 appointment.”
Some commenters on the video asked whether staff would be paid for the time they were there getting ready.
Alison Maelzer, a partner at Hesketh Henry, said how this would be approached in New Zealand was not straightforward.
“Generally speaking, an employer can expect an employee to be at work, ready to commence work, at the agreed start time. Usually, there would be something in the employment agreement to that effect.
“However, if the employee needs to take particular actions or do things in order to be ready to start work – for example, setting up a hair stylist’s station, or preparing a shop for opening by deactivating the security, logging in to the systems and preparing for trading – this becomes a bit more nuanced.
“Employees are entitled to be paid for the hours that they work. There are a number of cases that are authority for this proposition, including in relation to pre-work staff meetings, and travel to work locations. If the actions needed to prepare for trading, or get ready for a client’s appointment are ‘work’, then the employee should usually be paid for that time.
“This might also apply to circumstances where extensive uniform or safety equipment is required to be put on at the start of the day and removed at the end of the day – the time spent ‘gearing up’ and then removing the equipment/uniform at the end of the day, will usually be considered work, and employees will often be paid an allowance for the time taken in these circumstances.
“Usually, employers and employees will take a pragmatic, practical approach. For example, it might be sensible for an employer to roster at least one retail employee to start earlier so that they can set up, ahead of the time the shop opens to the public. In the case of a hair salon, it would seem sensible to schedule the day’s first appointment at a time shortly after the salon opens, so that everything is in order by the time the customer arrives – scheduling an appointment for the exact time the employees commence work does not seem like it would make for a good customer experience.”
Workers First deputy secretary Rudd Hughes said unpaid pre-start expectations were common across many workplaces, in retail, hospitality, healthcare and trades.
“It tends to be far less prevalent where workers are unionised, because members know to raise it and unions treat it as a clear line.
“Most workers just absorb it quietly, which is exactly why employers get away with it.
“Ultimately, it’s a form of wage theft. if your employer requires you to be somewhere and ready, that’s work time.”
Sheshwarz said staff were being paid for the time they were at work.
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