Open Minds Australia underpays staff $3.3 million

Open Minds Australia underpaid more than 1,500 former and current employees a total of $3.3 million between July 2015 and July 2021.

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the underpayment was a result of uncertain interpretation of its collective agreement, as well as errors with its payroll and rostering system. As a result, 1,507 current and former employees were underpaid in their sleepovers, penalty rates, overtime, allowances, and pay point increments.

Affected employees include full-time, part-time and casual support workers, residential support workers, and case workers, according to the FWO. They were also based in locations such as Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Logan, Redlands, and Lismore.

Open Minds, provider of mental health and disability support services, self-reported the underpayments to the FWO in June 2021 after detecting them in an internal payroll review.

Back-payment hits $4.2 million

According to the FWO, Open Minds has completed all its back-payments, reimbursing employees about $4.2 million, including superannuation and interest. The average back-payment was about $2,400, including superannuation and interest. The largest, however, reached almost $50,000.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the case should remind employers to ensure they correctly apply the terms of their own enterprise agreements.

"In this matter, a failure to correctly apply the terms of their own enterprise agreement led to long-term breaches and hardworking disability sector workers missing out on their money," Booth said in a statement.

"Employers need to place a much higher priority on having systems and processes in place that ensure employees' full lawful entitlements are met, year-in, year-out."

Entering an Enforceable Undertaking

Meanwhile, the FWO said Open Minds has also entered an Enforceable Undertaking with it.

"Under the Enforceable Undertaking, Open Minds has committed to implementing stringent measures to ensure all its workers are paid correctly," Booth said. "These measures include commissioning, at its own cost, an independent auditor to check it is appropriately meeting all employee entitlements."

Other mandates for Open Minds under the EU include:

• Providing FWO a report on its progress in implementing a new integrated rostering and payroll system
• Convening a payroll remediation committee
• Running an independent employee hotline to take any workplace relations queries for three months
• Writing to underpaid staff to notify them the EU has begun

Open Minds Australia is an in-home care and support services charity that assists people with cognitive and physical disabilities across 35 sites in Queensland and New South Wales.