Underpay call centre coughs up

A GOLD Coast call centre that raised money for cerebral palsy has back paid $77,286 after being busted by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) for underpaying 43 workers.

Global Interactive Operations Pty Ltd, based at Broadbeach, has admitted to underpaying workers as much as $9392 each between July 2016 and February 2019.

FWO inspectors found the company had failed to pay casual workers their minimum casual loading, as well as penalty rates for evening, overtime and public holiday work.

Some casual workers were not given a minimum of three hours’ work per shift, as required by the Contract Call Centres Award.

The company has admitted to the breaches in a court-enforceable undertaking released by the FWO yesterday.

The document shows the company has back paid the workers, paid $5000 to the Federal Government and agreed to send letters of apology to the staff.

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the firm faced ongoing audits for five years and had agreed to overhaul business practices to improve workplace compliance.

Ms Parker said the call centre had been paid to fundraise for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, but the FWO made no allegations against the charity.

The FWO bust was part of a crackdown on underpayment of charity fundraisers.

Global Interactive Operations director Mark Gallen blamed the underpayment on “a human error which saw employees placed on the incorrect award’’. He said 43 employees were owed an average of $11.53 per week.

“We have since contacted and paid each of them, including tracking down former employees living overseas,” he said.