Case Study: Wage theft and underpayment of staff

Currently, in Victoria and Queensland, wage theft has a prescribed maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment and, in Victoria, can face fines over $200,000 for an individual. In addition to this, Queensland employees who are victims of wage theft in the state can recover their unpaid wages. For employers in Queensland, underpayment or non-payment of wages due to an honest mistake or delay by an employer cannot amount to criminal prosecution. 

Practices can become unstuck if they think there may be a mistake with payroll and don’t follow up or seek a second opinion or if an employee comes to them with concerns about their payslip and no action is taken. Negligent actions in these circumstances can lead to wage theft accusations or back payments to staff with additional hefty fines. 

With this in mind, practice owners, managers and payroll services need to be aware of the appropriate and relevant penalties applicable to their practice staff. This includes understanding when overtime, penalty rates or allowances should be paid.

Employees should remain better off overall (BOOT) in any arrangement or agreement made between the employee and the practice. This will help reduce the chances of underpayments occurring. 

The Workplace Relations Team has noticed common confusions around Saturday penalty rates, particularly when they fall within an employee’s ordinary hours of work/rostered hours and what the appropriate hourly rate of pay is. Under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award and Nurses Award 2020, there are provisions that outline the applicable Saturday penalty rate. These differ between permanent and casual staff.  

If part of an employee’s ordinary hours of work includes a Saturday shift, that employee, unless they have a grossed up wage, which is a higher rate of pay to include the Saturday penalty rate, is to be paid the Saturday rate for all hours worked on that day.

If a practice is found to have incorrectly paid their staff the appropriate penalty, they will need to back pay that employee as well as any others they may have incorrectly paid in the past, including past employees who no longer work at the practice.

	Workplace Relations Support  Workplace Relations Support can help practice managers and owners in understanding how the penalty and overtime rates apply to your staff in line with the relevant award. You can contact us via phone (07) 3872 2222 and email support workplacerelations@amaq.com.au.
	Workplace Relations Toolkit  Subscribers to the WR Toolkit receive complimentary BOOT test calculations and grossed up wage contract drafting by the workplace relation’s team to ensure arrangements made between the practice and future employees, leave the employee better off overall.
	Workplace Relations Consultancy Workplace Relations Consultancy can review contracts you have already put together and offer guidance on whether clauses in your contract meet the current contractual obligations between the practice and the employee.