PayCheck
About GWURosters & Breaks
The essentials under the 2025 EA: engagement lengths, 10-hour rest, no split shifts, roster publication & changes, weekend/public holiday equivalency, and how breaks work.
Rostering basics
Rosters must be predictable and follow the Enterprise Agreement (EA). The rules below cover the core guardrails. If your roster breaks these, keep records and reach out for help.
Minimum engagement & span
| Rule | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Minimum shift length | 3 hours. You shouldn’t be rostered or made to work less than the minimum engagement. |
| Maximum shift length | 11 hours (longer requires genuine agreement, not pressure). |
| Rest between shifts | At least 10 hours off between finishing and starting again. |
| Split shifts | No split shifts. You should not be rostered two separate non-continuous shifts in one day. |
| Weekends | Avoid loading a single weekend with multiple long (>5 hr) shifts. |
Roster publication & changes
| Topic | Baseline expectation |
|---|---|
| Roster publication | Rosters should be published with reasonable notice (e.g., by the Saturday before the week). Consistent lateness? Flag it. |
| Changes to a published roster | Changes require reasonable notice and your agreement, last-minute swaps shouldn’t be forced. |
| Calling you in | You can say no to short-notice calls if unavailable. You shouldn’t be penalised for declining. |
| Declining shifts | With the exception of your base shift, you can decline shifts you can’t work. You’re not required to find a cover (you may choose to as a courtesy). |
Worked beyond your rostered finish? That’s usually handled under Overtime & Variations, not a roster rule.
Breaks
Break entitlements depend on shift length and classification under the 2025 EA. Use PayCheck to get your exact break mix (paid rest breaks and unpaid meal breaks) for a given rostered shift.
| Hours worked | Paid rest break (10 min) | Unpaid meal break (30–60 min) |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00–3:59 | None | None |
| 4:00–4:59 | One break | None |
| 5:00–9:00 | One break | One break |
| 9:00+ | One 10 min rest break (or two if only taking one 30 min meal). | One break (or two if only taking one 10 min rest). |
"Hours worked" means your total rostered shift length, including the time spent on breaks. For instance a 4:00-9:00pm shift is "5 hours worked" even with a 30-minute meal break. Always check PayCheck for precise entitlements for your specific shift. If taking two breaks, one is in the first half of the shift and one in the second.
Weekend/Public Holiday Equivalency
The 2025 EA introduces a new concept known as “equivalency”, linking penalty-rate hours to ordinary weekday hours over a rolling 4-week period.
| Shift type | Team Member (TM) ratio | Team Leader (TL) ratio | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend (Sat/Sun) | 1 : 1 1 weekend hour → 1 weekday hour | 1 : 0.5 1 weekend hour → 0.5 weekday hours | TM: 5h Sat → 5h weekdays TL: 5h Sat → 2.5h weekdays |
| Public Holiday | 1 : 5 1 PH hour → 5 weekday hours | 1 : 3 1 PH hour → 3 weekday hours | TM: 5h PH → 25h weekdays TL: 5h PH → 15h weekdays |
Back-to-back close→open
A close followed by an early open may breach the 10-hour rest rule, keep exact finish/start times.
Under 3-hour minimum
Being rostered or sent home under the minimum engagement isn’t allowed, note the times and reason.
Breaks missed or delayed
Repeatedly working through or taking breaks far too late should be raised, log times and who approved changes.
Split-shift patterns
Morning + night with a long unpaid gap resembles a split shift, prohibited under the EA.
Roster or breaks not being met?
Note dates/times, roster screenshots, and who you spoke to. For working past finish, see Overtime & Variations. For break entitlements on your exact shift, use PayCheck.