Intended for employers dealing with actual or suspected non-compliance
The Fair Work Ombudsman has published a new guide that aims to help employers identify and correct underpayments of employee entitlements.
According to the FWO, the new Payroll Remediation Programme (PRP) guide has information on:
"The guide assists employers who've become aware of actual or suspected non-compliance and intend on undertaking a PRP to assess and address the issues," the document read.
"Employers undertaking a proactive PRP to assess payroll compliance may find aspects of the guide helpful, but the guide is not specifically designed for that purpose. Employers should consider what regular testing and controls are appropriate to ensure proactive compliance for their business."
The FWO said it created the guide to encourage improved compliance with the Fair Work Act, which was recently amended to impose higher penalties against employers intentionally underpaying staff.
"We look at what an employer has done to correct underpayments when we consider whether to take action under our Compliance and Enforcement Policy," the FWO said on its website.
The new guide comes amid escalating cases of underpayment across Australia. Just last month, Townsend House Inc signed an Enforceable Undertaking after underpayments exceeding $76,000.
Wage theft in Australia is costing workers almost $850 million annually, according to a report from Rippling last year.
Young people in insecure work are disproportionately affected by this, as per separate data from the Australian Council of Trade Unions.
It found that one in five workers aged under 25 are paid below the legal minimum wage for their age. It also uncovered that 30% of casual workers under 18 years of age are paid less than they should be receiving due to the relevant junior award rate.
"The targets of wage theft tend to be those with less power in the workplace, so we see a clear pattern of dodgy bosses going after the pay packets of younger people, especially casual workers," said ACTU secretary Sally McManus in a statement.
