Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has ruled out co-authoring with Labor a joint submission to the independent industrial relations umpire on penalty rates.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten had suggested a joint submission should be made to argue for the importance of penalty rates for the retail and hospitality sectors.

"The government has no plans to change the way penalty rates are set, nor does it intend to make a submission to the Fair Work Commission's review," Mr Turnbull told The Australian.