A worker at a Keilor East warehouse has been back-paid more than $6000 after receiving less than the minimum hourly rate for more than a year.
An investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman resulted in the warehouse employee being reimbursed $6400 after being underpaid the minimum rate for more than 12 months in 2012-13.
This year, five workers from Melbourne’s north-west and northern suburbs have been back-paid a total of $70,500, with the single biggest recovery being $34,000 for a clerical worker at a Greensborough real estate agency.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said ensuring staff were paid the correct wages on time was one of the most fundamental obligations of an employer.
“Employees should not be put in a position where they may struggle to pay their bills because they haven’t been paid the correct wages on time,” Ms James said.
“We have a flexible and fair approach when inadvertent mistakes happen and employers are willing to co-operate with us,” she said.
Ms James says the overwhelming majority of employers want to do the right thing by their employees and get it right when it comes to workplace laws.
More than $23 million was recovered for about 15,000 underpaid workers nationally during the 2013-14 financial year. More information is at www.fairwork.gov.au.
