Ten years in jail for wage theft

BUSINESSES found guilty of wage theft now face up to 10 years in jail, Cairns law firm WGC Lawyers has revealed.

Employment law specialist Kate Smith said state parliament passed the Criminal Code and Other Legislation (Wage Theft) Amendment Bill 2020 last week and it would be enacted before the government was dissolved on October 6.

“Employers should take immediate action to review and make necessary amendments to employment contracts, HR and payroll practices to ensure they are paying employees their legal entitlements,” Ms Smith said.

“The new laws capture a broad range of actions including underpayment of hours, unpaid penalty rates, unreasonable deductions, unpaid superannuation, withholding entitlements and underpayment through intentionally misclassifying a job under the wrong modern award or classification.

“These actions can make the offender liable for a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.

“The laws also make for the faster and cheaper resolution of fair work claims for unpaid wages in the Industrial Magistrates Court.”

The Queensland Parliamentary Education, Employment and Small Business Committee conducted an inquiry into wage theft in Queensland and on November 16, 2018, tabled its report — A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work? Exposing the true cost of wage theft in Queensland.

Ms Smith said the committee found wage theft affected 437,000 Queensland workers with an estimated annual cost of $1.22bn in wages and $1.12bn in unpaid superannuation.