Roughly 2,300 staff owed about $2 million after issues with time sheets and on-call allowances
The Australian National University (ANU) has uncovered two significant staff payment issues following an inquiry by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The university says it has taken immediate steps to rectify these errors, which have impacted numerous casual and on-call staff members.
The issues, identified through ANU's internal investigations, involve unprocessed casual timesheets and incorrect on-call allowances.
ANU's Chief People Officer, Kate Witenden, emphasized the university’s commitment to resolving these matters promptly and ensuring fair compensation for all affected staff.
“We deeply value the contributions of all our staff and we sincerely apologise that this has happened.”
A system configuration error resulted in the failure to action timesheets submitted by casual staff. This oversight led to missed payments for 2,290 casual professional and sessional staff, amounting to roughly $2 million based on 2024 pay rates, said the university.
This figure excludes superannuation and interest payable. The median missed payment per affected staff member is $600.
“ANU has already taken immediate steps to rectify the system error and has begun reimbursing affected staff for the last financial year,” said Witenden.
"We anticipate this to take 10 – 12 weeks to ensure a thorough review, calculation, and processing of the appropriate remediation payments.”
The second issue involves the on-call availability allowances for staff responding to emergency situations. ANU discovered that some staff may not have received the correct overtime rates while on call.
This problem affects a smaller group, with 130 staff identified as potentially impacted.
"We are taking this matter seriously and are committed to thoroughly investigating to ensure all remediation payments are made," Witenden said.
Amid growing reports of underpayments across Australia, employers are encouraged to further value transparency to protect the workforce's trust and morale.
To prevent future errors, ANU said it has hired KPMG to review the methodology used to identify underpayments, and to assist in calculating appropriate remediation payments, including superannuation entitlements and interest payments.
ANU has also established a dedicated website to provide relevant information and FAQs for affected employees.
"ANU prides itself on being a great place to work for all our staff, and we are committed to giving more job security and certainty to casual staff," said Witenden.
Lachlan Clohesy, NTEU ACT Division Secretary, expressed concern in an ABC News article about the missed payments.
"If this can happen at a university of ANU's prestige, and with ANU's resources, that should make it abundantly clear that this can – and is – happening at universities right across the country," he said.
