Caterer in soup over staff super

ONE of Brisbane’s largest companies, which was awarded a lucrative tender to run nine outlets at the Commonwealth Games, has not been paying their employees’ super contributions.

Zen Catering said it had entered into a payment plan with the Australian Taxation Office in order to make good on the money it owed its employees.

The Bulletin spoke with three former staff members who between them are owed more than $30,000.

A Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation spokesman said it had management systems in place to review contractors’ operations.

“However, it is the responsibility of the contractor to ensure employee and contractor entitlements are met and comply with the law,” he said.

It is believed non-payment or irregular payment of super contributions started about two years ago.

One former staffer, who wished to remain anonymous, said she stumbled on the missed payments and that management had not been up front about it.

“We sent countless emails and they usually never got back to us, or would lie and say it was getting paid,” the staff member said.

“Their story kept changing about why it wasn’t paid … eventually we got sent an email.”

The email, provided to the Bulletin, stated that the “ATO have now initiated an agreed timeline for payment of all superannuation”.