A Caulfield cleaner is one of five Melbourne east and south-east workers who have been back-paid a total of $37,100 following recent intervention by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO). The cleaner received the biggest recovery of $13,200 for ‘underpaid wages, overtime rates and penalty rates between 2008 and 2010’, stated the 1 May press release.
‘After Fair Work inspectors contacted the business and explained its obligations the employee was reimbursed all money owed without the need for further action against the employer. The other recoveries included $7,800 for a construction worker, $5,800 for a young apprentice tradesman, $5,300 for a young hair-and-beauty industry worker and $5,000 for a Chinese national retail employee.
Acting FWO, Michael Campbell, said a lack of awareness among employers of the minimum entitlements that applied to their employees was a common cause of the underpayments.
Campbell said when Fair Work inspectors identify a problem and contact a business, most employers check their records, realise a problem has occurred, and fix it immediately.
“These businesses have now corrected the errors that led to the underpayments and put processes in place to ensure they will not happen again,” said Campbell.