As a university student, you have been working at a restaurant for a couple of years. You get paid fortnightly and receive your pay slip via email on the day you are paid. One Friday morning, you check your bank account and notice that your pay this week is lower than usual, which is odd as you regularly work the same shifts each week so there is no reason why the amount is different. You arrange to talk with your employer and show them your payslips, highlighting the difference in amounts. Your employers says that they have been paying you the incorrect amount and the recent pay is reflective of what you should be paid. After speaking with your employers, you speak to other staff and compare pay rates. The pay of other staff had not decreased like yours and you know that the new rate is not correct based on your knowledge of your award. You send a follow up email seeking further clarification and received a reply saying not to come back to work and to look for another job elsewhere.

The concept of managerial prerogative means that Australian employers are freely allowed to make decisions on their business, does the above decision fall within managerial prerogative? Justify your argument. Next, outline what legislation would be relevant in this scenario and explain what rights you have under that legislation. Lastly, what would you do as the next step?