DON’T SLIP UP ON WAGES

Ensure you are getting enough pay, writes Melanie Burgess

ALL workers should be checking their pay slips because there is a good chance their boss may owe them money.

One in five Australian workers have been underpaid in the past year and it is not just backpackers and cash-in-hand workers who are falling victim.

Following high-profile investigations into Domino’s, Flight Centre, 7Eleven and George Calombaris’s MAdE Establishment, a survey by payroll software company Ascender reveals 22 per cent of workers had been underpaid to some extent in the 12 months to June.

The issue is particularly rampant among young people, with more than a third (34 per cent) of respondents aged 18 to 24 saying they have been short-changed.

Bennett & Philp associate and employment law expert Lachlan Thorburn says he is surprised underpayment rates are not even higher.

“It’s a very, very big issue in Australia,” he says.

“Whether deliberate or unintentional, it occurs quite frequently in different fields.”

Thorburn says employers are obligated to stay up to date with amendments to awards but often small and medium businesses do not have the knowledge or resources to upgrade their system.

Ascender general manager Inna Wahlberg says more employers should use payroll technologies as incorrect pay can lead to a damaged business reputation.

“Most businesses are not doing this on purpose, with many of these errors being caused by accident or having outdated information in their systems,” she says.

The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered more than $29.6 million in unpaid wages for more than 13,000 workers in 2017-18.

Most recently, celebrity chef George Calombaris’s MAdE Establishment issued a public apology for underpaying more than 500 employees a total of $7.83 million.

Trade union United Voice national secretary Jo-anne Schofield says underpayment is rife in the hospitality sector.

Contracted industries, such as cleaning and security, are also vulnerable, she says.

“Many cleaning contracts display a shocking lack of responsibility towards the treatment of cleaners,” Schofield says.