How Much Do You Earn Working in a Retail Job with or without Commissions?

Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 05:57

I get around $42000 a year on base pay, and if I achieve my KPI for that month I will get around $400 - $500 a month ($500 been the max I can get per months) in commission.

I work around 42 hours a week, this including 37.50 hours a week full time + around 4 - 4.5 hours a week not been paid due to the following:

Expected to coming to work 20mins early daily to fix the issues the day before
Late finish due to last min customers and till balancing (I sometimes finish 45 mins late on some days not getting paid)
Help the boss with a few last min tasks.

Basically I give around 50 mins a day extra time unpaid and it is expected but not appreciated by the management.

I also work for a large retailer doing online fulfilment, pay is pretty crap at around $26.90 an hour for casual rate flat, regardless if its weekdays or working Saturdays, yes we still only get $26.90 an hour working the full day Saturday (Sunday is good pay but they never put me on so forget about that) 《======= I finish this job in 2 days so no more of this crap as I was expected to pick 50 items on the entire floor in 1 hour. Which is impossible to do.

Reason I am asking is I am really thinking of going out and start looking for a new job in the new year, even a job which I can finish on time is good for me. (without putting in the extra unpaid hours and not been appreciated)

Very interested in how much is everyone else getting in the retail sectors? Please kindly share your hourly pay, any extra time you are paid, or not paid, and how much commission you take home monthly?

Thanks heaps

Education & Work

Comments

  • Presence on 07/12/2021 - 06:29
    +9

    Expected to coming to work 20mins early

    This is illegal. I'd ask them to pay for it or else turn up the second you start getting paid.

    What other skills or interests do you have? I'd look for a new job.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 07:14

      At the moment only in sales. I have been thinking about changing job lately.

      • Ash-Say on 07/12/2021 - 08:15
        +9

        If you are paid by hour, keep record of every second you worked overtime without pay.

        File a case after you have left job.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:35

          Yes I am paid by the hour with commissions on top.

          I might do the record thing just like you suggested, this way I can keep track exactly how much free time I have been giving them.

          • [Deactivated] on 05/02/2022 - 17:42

            @Aerith-Waifu: In my opinion, they won't do anything…as others have said, it's rampant and even in their own departments they don't acknowledge it.

    • CheapandUsed on 07/12/2021 - 09:03
      +8

      Yep, and this type of wage theft is so rampant Fairwork felt the need to make an app:
      https://www.fairwork.gov.au/tools-and-resources/record-my-ho…

      • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:35

        Thanks for the link, really good information.

  • scrambledeggs on 07/12/2021 - 07:00
    +1

    11 years ago I got paid $9.20 an hour + commission at JB Hi Fi. It was like $350 base and then $150-$200 of commission on top, depending on how busy.

    I then worked for Travelex for some time and was making $30/hour working the graveyard shift (about $60k/year). This was the best job ever while I studied.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 07:03

      I also worked for Travelex until the covid hit. Good job for sure. Taking home around $68k at the time for many full timers.

      • Ash-Say on 07/12/2021 - 08:18

        Back in the days, they paid over $40 for Sunday shifts.

        For Sydney airport staff with early morning shift(5am), they worked till 3pm and made $400 in a day.

        • scrambledeggs on 07/12/2021 - 09:22

          Yeah same in Brisbane. Sundays double time, but I hated working Sunday. Instead, any time after 7pm was time and a half i.e. $31 an hour or something. As a 21 year old I was pretty chuffed with that amount of coin for working 6pm-2am.

          • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:50

            @scrambledeggs: I remember we had to stay behind with the flight delays also, in some days, an 8 hour shift becomes 11 and I can eazily get $450 a day.

            Compares to what I do now……..it was dream land……….

            • esq on 07/12/2021 - 23:06

              @Aerith-Waifu: OP it sounds like retail is a temporary measure to pay the bills due to your former role being affected by COVID. If that's the case, why not look into contract/temp work that builds your network or skills to help your intended career? Data Entry, Office Admin etc. Plenty of these pay the same or more than your current role and frees up your weekends. Most importantly they could potentially be in teams where the leaders, if they have a good impression of you, will open doors down the road.

              Customer service is probably the easiest job to get a callback for right now as most employers have extremely high staff turnover. It's 99% call centre-based and definitely no unpaid overtime. A plus is it is likely to be WFH. A possible minus is this is a very high utilisation work environment, to the point social interactions may not even occur at all between colleagues.

              These are all simple low end suggestions, the real question is what would you rather be doing for the rest of your life? Now may be a good time to slowly pivot towards it as the current 42k a year + 6K OTE is worth developing an exit strategy immediately.

              • Aerith-Waifu on 09/12/2021 - 15:20

                @esq: Thanks for that, at the moment I just want to get out of this toxic role. So I have already redone and resume and also registered for Seek.

                Saw a lot of roles in the call centre-based which pays around $29.50 an hour which is pretty good for weekdays.

                Not sure if they will have me as I have not done any call centre jobs before. Its all face to face selling for me so far.

                • esq on 09/12/2021 - 18:14

                  @Aerith-Waifu: Yes they will. Have recently witnessed quite a few national hiring sprees from several different angles. Most organisations have a break over Christmas but should start up again early next year. Due to the current lack of overseas students and working holiday visas, there's far less supply of candidates.

                  It's not necessarily sales skills they are after. Just communication skills which are demonstrated via behavioural interviewing.

                  Another idea. Given your background at Travelex you could write a resume that gives you the soft skills for mortgage lending, there's a fairly low-paying period on the bottom rung of that industry but it is same or better than your current rem.

                  • Aerith-Waifu on 12/12/2021 - 02:51

                    @esq: Thanks for that, what is a soft skills for mortgage lending? Is it because I worked in kind-of-a-little-bit related industry they might take me on due to the current situation?

                    • esq on 17/12/2021 - 12:43

                      @Aerith-Waifu: First google result for me: https://www.redrockgroup.com.au/broking/7-transferable-skill…

                      I'm not a mortgage broker. I know a decent amount about the field, enough to have been offered jobs, partnerships etc. The knowledge acquired is just from asking a lot of questions from a lot of people so at least you're on the right track with stuff like this. Feel free to DM me in the future if you have any more questions about your career in general.

      • DKZ370 on 15/01/2022 - 23:24

        Take home 68k? I.e. Grossing almost 100k at Travelex???

  • wobblydrow on 07/12/2021 - 07:18
    +2

    Minimum wage is 20.33 an hour which is 39500 a year, so if you are gettingc 42k and doing an hour a day for free your getting screwed. So many jobs available right now, change careers…..even hospitality paying more.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:37

      I honestly didnt know the min wage is now $20.33. Damn I should have posted in here long time ago and I thought I was paid much better rate than the min wage.

      What kind of jobs are available in the hospitality industry at the moment? Like waiters?

      • esq on 09/12/2021 - 18:20

        And to answer this, waiters, kitchen staff, bar staff. I guess hotel staff get lumped in too but not many jobs there currently. Issue is many of these roles are not FT.

        One of my closest friends who has had depression his entire life (but can seem well adjusted enough in interviews) makes $30+ per hr casual from working at a large pub. Base wage is approx $28 but his overtime pushes up the average. He is respected and well thought of simply from showing up on time, working hard, working overtime when needed and despite severe autism manages to weather the toxic office politics of large roster hospitality venues.

        Lots of issues and toxicity in this industry but due to current economics it can be comparatively well paying with good hours. I was also a bar worker over 15yrs ago in uni, making $17 an hr back then.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 12/12/2021 - 02:52

          Thanks for sharing, I honest sort they paid less compared to what I am doing now. Good to know. Will add Hospitality in my job search then

  • MS Paint on 07/12/2021 - 08:06
    +8

    I give around 50 mins a day extra time unpaid and it is expected

    You are being absolutely reamed my friend.

    • coffeeinmyveins on 07/12/2021 - 13:45
      +1

      lol wait until you work in a salaried job. three hours of overtime twice a week? not getting paid for that.

      • brendanm on 07/12/2021 - 14:09

        Unsure why people would agree to this.

        • coffeeinmyveins on 07/12/2021 - 15:13

          Because everyone else does. Deadlines. Getting a promotion. Proving yourself. Making up for mistakes.

          etc

          • brendanm on 07/12/2021 - 17:09

            @coffeeinmyveins: That'll be a hard pass from me. I get paid 1.5x for any overtime if I choose to do it.

          • weezlebub on 07/12/2021 - 17:26

            @coffeeinmyveins: but salaried jobs assume you work extra hours, couldn't you also use it as a way to work less hours?

      • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:37

        How much are the salary jobs?

        • coffeeinmyveins on 07/12/2021 - 17:14

          Throw a dart at a board.

          In the same breath about people "not wanting to work overtime", I work with people on 150-250k a year, so the idea of a few extra hours isn't that ridiculous.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:45

      Yeah, I know. There was even an notice on the staff room awhile back says very distinctively that we are expected to coming 15 - 20 mins early to sort out the work day before. Its now been taking down, I should have taken a picture of it.

  • Hithere on 07/12/2021 - 08:09
    +1

    going out and start looking for a new job in the new year

    With what they are paying you and the hours you have to work I would have been looking for another job after receiving my first pay.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:38
      +1

      Full time jobs are not the most easy to find these days so I stuck with them. But yeah, its time to move on.

  • rektrading on 07/12/2021 - 09:06

    Being a wage slave is such a difficult lifestyle.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:48

      Not by choice, it was hard to find full time job when the covid hit. Now things are much better so yeah, time to move on.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 07/12/2021 - 09:26
    +1

    I left retail about 10 years ago when it started getting too ridiculous to hit the KPI's.

    Either your commission would take a hit, or just flat out not get paid out if you didnt hit KPI's.
    At first it was just reach a target amount and get paid out, then it started with hit rates on what was at the time extended warranty, or add on sales like anti-virus/office/memory cards etc. eventually moving to percentages of hit rate for convincing people to use Finance with what in my mind was predatory practices for a scumbag company.

    I now work with wholesale, which some days seems even worse than retail.

    (without putting in the extra unpaid hours and not been appreciated)

    Regarding this point, yeah..it's not an easy market out there.. you might get slightly better pay but conditions might not be that much better.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:39

      Out of interests whats the pay like for the wholesale sector?

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 07/12/2021 - 17:16
        +1

        Not at Liberty to divulge but it’s way better than retail and has car. I average about 50hrs a week though and it’s quite high stress compared to retail where in comparison it’s a cake walk once you numb yourself to the experience of dealing with the worst that humankind has to offer.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 18:00
          +1

          Oh god sounds pretty bad. Hope you are ok.

  • El cheepo on 07/12/2021 - 11:30
    +1

    I have several friends working different types of retail jobs. Casually they are all around the same hourly rate but get penalties for ot and weekends.

    You are getting screwed considering what else is out there and the huge need for workers that actually want to work.

    I would be ditching your current employer and if i had proof, dobbing them in for unpaid ot to fairwork.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:39

      Thanks, will be taking the notes on the time now. Only thing is I need to find something first before I leave.

      • El cheepo on 07/12/2021 - 19:12

        Take note of everything and you can request it back first with your employer, then if they say no, with fair works assistance.

        They might not be able to get you OT owed but they will put a stop to that employer making people do free OT.

        And as far as finding something else, it should be straightforward especially leading into Christmas.
        Don’t feel like you need to have your current employer as a reference, just make sure you have other references and explain you don’t wish to use your current one as you don’t want to risk your job as a casual there.

        $26.90 casual is essentially minimum wage as a casual.
        (Maybe $1-2 higher, can’t remember)
        There are plenty of positions that pay that or more with OT, weekend rates etc (if you are happy doing weekends)
        Heck, coles woolies aldi etc pay that plus penalties, require no experience and give you a discount on your shopping.

        Best of luck!

        • Aerith-Waifu on 09/12/2021 - 15:21

          I have. So far since 3 days ago I have already done in total of 79 mins without pay. I told my boss I am not coming early anymore and he is not pleased.

          Time to leave for sure.

  • bobbified on 07/12/2021 - 13:16
    +1

    I am really thinking of going out and start looking for a new job in the new year,

    Do it, but don't leave your current job until you've secured a new one.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:47

      Yes indeed, I think I still going to need their references too when I do.

  • LordSydney on 07/12/2021 - 13:44

    If they're not paying you from the time you start to the time you finish - they're ripping you off. I'd be lining up another job and telling them to get stuffed, then reporting them to FWC.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:42
      +2

      I dont mind stay behind if once or twice in a week, but this is getting out of control. Had 4 staff quit in the last 2 months alone. Will be looking………..starting today!

      • LordSydney on 07/12/2021 - 17:16
        +1

        Some employers have zero respect. The moment they see more can be gotten out of you than other employees, they exploit it. If you don't define the boundaries early on, they push it further and further until you go "hang on, why am I working so hard for this (profanity)?"
        I used to work in a retail position, harder than everyone else, and would have a boss breathing down my neck criticising my output because they knew everyone else would tell them to F off while I had a good work ethic and would keep my head down.

        • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 18:01
          +2

          God this sounds like exactly where I am at the moment. Thanks for sharing. Appreciated.

  • Screamingeagle on 07/12/2021 - 13:48
    +1

    I was working retail fulltime up until the end of 2018 when I decided to head back to uni.

    I think that I had it fairly good while there. I was getting a salary of just under $51000 per year. I had no options of bonuses with that though. Our contracted hours were technically half hour before opening until a half hour after closing. On a a typical day were started half an hour before opening and were usually gone between 15 and 20 minutes after closing, but occasionally we would have customers who were late, and wouldn't leave but that maybe happened once a month (if we were unlucky). The store also had extended hours leading up to Christmas, but there were no extra money paid. Our contracted time each day was a total of 9 and a half hours (including a total of 50 mins worth of breaks). We had to work on weekends as well but they were shorter days - 7 and a half hours on Saturday and 5 on Sunday).

    • Aerith-Waifu on 07/12/2021 - 16:46

      $51k in retail is pretty good if you only had to work 37.5 hours. Was this including commission or it doesn't including commission?

      Gees I am getting ripped off badly here………………….

      • Screamingeagle on 08/12/2021 - 08:50

        Straight salary. No commission or bonuses.

  • brendanm on 08/12/2021 - 17:37

    Why not just get something like a forklift licence, and work in warehousing or similar? Got to be a million times better than retail. If you want an actual career, certain sectors of health care always need people, and government jobs are quite plush.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 09/12/2021 - 15:23

      Sorry how much are the forklift driver earns? Isnt it the same as retail pay?

      Tried all the government role, at least 30 in the last 2 years, never gotten an interview. Will be looking around from now.

      • brendanm on 09/12/2021 - 15:30

        Sorry how much are the forklift driver earns? Isnt it the same as retail pay?

        No idea have to be more than retail, plus you don't have to work retail, or do unpaid hours.

        Tried all the government role, at least 30 in the last 2 years, never gotten an interview. Will be looking around from now

        You will need at least a certificate or diploma probably, but very much worth it

        • Aerith-Waifu on 12/12/2021 - 02:53

          Thanks for sharing. Will look into it

      • buckethat on 20/12/2021 - 22:26

        I know some forklift drivers that work in AusPost processing centers that makes close to $40/hr.

        They do night shift though, so you'll get a bit less if you work regular hours.

  • Overclocked91 on 09/12/2021 - 07:53

    I had a similar issue at a big grooming and hair care shop. Like some others have mentioned it is illegal for them to make you work without being paid. I bet if the chips were down they would say you volunteered to come in early etc as you haven't mentioned it being an issue for you. So keeping a log may be difficult to prove. All in all, retail is a tough gig and I would definitely not be putting in those extra hours without being paid. Honestly, get a job at Bunnings.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 09/12/2021 - 15:25
      +2

      Oh not happy to coming to work early for no pay for sure, just told him I am not coming early anymore and will be job hunting from now

  • buckethat on 20/12/2021 - 22:23

    Bit late to the party but.. Like people are saying, now is prime time to get into basically any sector.

    Do you have any further education or qualification? If you have a degree, you could pursue a career using that.

    I work in corporate and plenty of very entry level roles that requires almost no prior experience are paying 60k+

  • cookie2 on 10/01/2022 - 23:35

    Can i suggest to OP that you do a poll? You'll get more answers etc i think. I used to work at Freedom. We paid good comissions to sales people. Made me a bit envious at times. I think retail as a career needs to be with commission, or as management, anything else has to be a stepping stone or a hobby, will be indervalued, underpaid and rights ommited or denied. But you also need to set the scene for the behaviour you want from them, speak up and push for your own rights to be paid your overtime, to ok staying back and coming in early.

    • Aerith-Waifu on 03/02/2022 - 17:37

      Interested on how much commission would you normally get on a monthly basis?

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