The Finance Sector Union has asked the Federal Court to rule that a global currency exchange company is covered by the banking, finance and insurance award, claiming the financial services shifted to the retail award after the recent reduction in penalty rates.The union, in a case launched last month, relies on its coverage rule to insist that UAE Exchange Australia Pty Ltd cannot claim to be covered by the retail instrument."The retail award does not apply [to UAE Exchange] within the meaning of s47 of the Act", the FSU argued in one of the documents filed with the court.FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said in a statement that UAE Exchange "is a financial services company and not a retailer"."We are not prepared to see finance companies pick and choose awards to suit themselves."She says the union won't "stand by" and allow employees working for companies that are clearly part of the finance industry to "have their penalty rates cut under the pretence that they are working for retailers".She says the change in penalty rates visited on the employees means tellers are up to $4400 a year worse off and managers $7,000.The FSU also claims that the company's "migration of employees" to the retail award "followed advice to UAE from the Fair Work Ombudsman that retail was the correct award"."That advice contradicted earlier advice by the FWO that they should be employed under the BFI award," the union said.The FSU in its court action also claims UAE Exchange unlawfully denied four of its officials entry to sites in three states. The company contended they had no entitlement because of the award switch.Justice Geoffrey Flick held a case management hearing in Sydney yesterday.Reprinted from Workplace Express