Company showed a 'strong commitment' to its obligations, says FWO
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has recently commended an employer after its act of self-reporting its violations culminated in an enforceable undertaking (EU) that’s worth millions of dollars and affecting hundreds of its workers. Find out what HR should do in case of any violation and the proper course of action to prevent it.
Queensland-based cattle and meat processing company, Australian Country Choice Holdings Pty Ltd (ACCH), entered into an EU after it submitted its report to the FWO, a media release said.
According to the FWO, ACCH self-reported after starting a review concerning employee inquiries that members of the Australian Country Choice Group of companies (ACC Group) underpaid its staff by over $2.5mil.
Underpaying employees
The FWO said underpayments occurred when companies within the ACC Group involved employees in employment contracts containing unlawful and ineffective clauses.
“Between 2010 and 2021, employees at the ACC Group’s abattoir and meat processing facility at Cannon Hill in Brisbane were underpaid entitlements under several awards and enterprise agreements,” the FWO said.
According to the regulator, the companies involved wrongly believed that the clauses enabled them to offset entitlements, including overtime, by paying a higher total pay rate while failing to check the pay rate to guarantee these were increased accordingly with the annual national minimum wages increases.
“This led the companies to underpay employee entitlements and allowances including overtime, shift and meal allowances, public holiday penalty rates and annual leave loading,” the FWO said.
It further found that aside from underpaying workers, ACCH also violated record-keeping and pay slip laws.
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“Underpaid employees include meat workers; cleaners; yard-persons, stock-persons and store-persons; administrative staff including clerks; procurement and logistics workers; and manufacturing employees,” the FWO said.
Following the case, FWO said that ACCH already back-paid 342 current and former employees with almost $3.28mil, including interest and superannuation.
Cooperating with the FWO
Acting FWO Michael Campbell noted that ACCH’s cooperation with the FWO demonstrated the company’s “strong commitment to rectifying its underpayments.”
“Under the Enforceable Undertaking, ACCH has committed to implementing stringent measures to ensure workers are being paid correctly,” Campbell said.
“These measures include conducting, at the company’s own cost, audits of its compliance with workplace laws over the next two years as well as reporting to the FWO on the extensive upgrade of its human resources and record-keeping systems,” he added.
Under the EU, the FWO said that the ACCH must have an independent expert examine its underpayment rectification process and give that report to the FWO.
Additionally, the ACCH is obliged to “publish notices in media, social media, its website and its workplaces detailing its breaches, and apologise to workers,” the FWO said.
“ACCH must also make a $200,000 contribution payment to the Commonwealth’s Consolidated Revenue Fund,” the agency said.
FWO noted that the EU requires the involved company to back-pay all its underpaid employees by 13 January 2023.
Takeaways for HR leaders:
- Commit to implementing stringent measures to guarantee workers are being paid correctly and that pay rates are in line with increasing standards
- Regularly perform audits of company compliance with workplace laws
- Ensure the clauses of employment contracts are lawful and effective
- Always observe efficient human resources and record-keeping systems
- Immediately communicate and submit findings to FWO for any suspected workplace violations to maintain good faith and diligence
- When in need of help in meeting legal obligations, communicate with the FWO for advice and assistance