Casual employees underpaid by more than $32,000
Allstaff Australia RJE Pty Ltd has pleaded guilty to underpaying the long service leave entitlements of five casual employees between 2019 and 2021.
The casual employees were underpaid more than $32,000, with the underpayments ranging from $5,176 to $7,460, according to Wage Inspectorate Victoria.
Affected employees include those hired by the labour hire agency and placed into casual warehousing roles in other businesses, such as packer, store person, and warehouse hand. These employees raised their situation to Wage Inspectorate Victoria in November 2021, alleging that their long service leave had not been paid.
Some of them were still owed for over two years after their employment ended, according to the Wage Inspectorate.
"These employees were denied thousands of dollars in entitlements, some for over two years, which is unacceptable," said Robert Hortle, Commissioner of Wage Inspectorate Victoria, in a statement. "This money could have been a crucial lifeline to help people meet living costs while they looked for a new job."
Fine imposed on labour hire firm
Magistrate Brett Sonnet fined Allstaff Australia $15,500 for its breaches, noting that it would have been a $30,000 fine if not for the labour hire agency's early guilty plea.
In Victoria, employees are entitled to long service leave if they worked continuously for with one employer for at least seven years.
Hortle said the case highlights the "poorly understood element" of Victoria's long service leave laws, which covers full-time, part-time, casual, seasonal, as well as fixed-term staff.
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"For labour hire businesses, your employees may be out of sight, but their entitlements cannot be out of mind. You can outsource your workers, but not their entitlements," Hortle said.