The New South Wales (NSW) Business Chamber is pushing to limit weekend penalties for employees who work on Saturdays and Sundays which ups the rates of workers higher than ordinary employees.

The move has the support of other major Australian companies and prominent people such as Westpac Chief Executive Gail Kelly, former Victoria Premier Jeff Kennett and Australian Mines and Metals Association Chief Executive Steve Knoff.

The groups said lowly paid workers in the hospitality industry who benefit the most from the weekend penalty should not get special treatment because it is causing financial havoc on small businesses.

As a result of the weekend penalty, many cafes and restaurants in Sydney are close on weekends because they cannot afford the penalty. It results in higher unemployment rate for people who could have to work on weekends.

Saturday work in a restaurant or café entitles the employee to a 25 per cent higher pay while Sunday work yields 50 per cent higher salary. Casual and night rate on Sunday entitles the worker to 100 per cent higher wage.

Surveys, however, said that 80 per cent of people support higher rates for employees who work on weekends. Employees in the hospitality trade defended the weekend penalty because in having to work on Saturdays and Sundays, they also miss family occasions such as birthday parties, barbecues and nights out on the town that are often held weekends.

Restaurant and Catering Australia Chief Executive John Hart said the penalty rate should apply only to hospitality staff who works more than five days in a row.

NSW Business Chamber Chief Executive Stephen Cartwright said the concept of higher compensation for weekend work is out of date because we now live in a 24/7 society.

"Twenty, 30 years ago Saturdays and Sundays were sacrosanct and nobody opened on the weekends, but that's well and truly gone these days and everybody's lifestyle is very different," Mr Cartwright was quoted by ABC.

Mr Cartwright cited a recent incident in which a major cruise liner called into the Sydney harbour and passengers went down to search for breakfast on a Sunday morning. However, within 30 minutes they returned to the ship because of limited options for dining.

"It is embarrassing that a global city like Sydney makes this impression on international tourists, let alone its own residents," Mr Cartwright added.

However, United Voice (UV) Union said Mr Cartwright's argument is not acceptable.

"At the end of the day our community has a view that if people work at weekends or in those times when normally people have social time or downtime they should be compensated for that," UV National Secretary Louise Tarrant said.

The Employment Relations Ministry also sided with hospitality workers.

"Weekends have a special place in the Australian way and working on the weekend means being away from family... compensation through higher pay is not unreasonable," the ministry's spokesman said.

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