University slammed for 'long-standing, long-lasting' record-keeping failures
The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has been penalised $213,120 in court for record-keeping failures that hindered the investigation of the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) into its underpayments of casual academic staff.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court said UNSW's failures were "systemic, long-standing, and long-lasting."
It noted that there was never any disclosure from the university of its breaches in respect of record-keeping requirements, despite various meetings, production of documents and information, as well as answering notices to produce.
"UNSW has not provided any explanation as to why simple time sheets were not implemented as soon as the first complaint was raised and the issues with its record keeping discovered," the court said.
"UNSW updated FWO in relation to underpayment, but did not disclose that the process of calculating underpayment was rendered difficult, if not near impossible, as a consequence of the lack of proper records."
Record-keeping failures
The FWO commenced legal action against UNSW in 2023 for breaching laws related to record-keeping after discovering that the university had not voluntarily disclosed or corrected its record-keeping failures after being put on notice in 2018.
"The university admitted its record-keeping and pay slip breaches only after we commenced legal action in 2023," said Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth in a statement.
"It is completely unacceptable for an employer's record-keeping practices to be so poor that they prevent our inspectors from assessing what hours its employees have worked and whether employees have received their full lawful entitlements."
According to the court, UNSW was expected to establish and maintain robust compliance systems and ensure it complied with its legal obligations.
"While the breaches were not deliberate per se, UNSW was also not deliberate in ensuring that it complied with its record keeping requirements," the court said.
"The very mischief which record-keeping requirements are designed to keep at bay, manifested itself in a significant manner, resulting in thousands of individual failures to make and keep proper records, and what appears to be millions of dollars of underpayments in wages."
The FWO said litigation was the "only appropriate response" to UNSW's failures.
"Record-keeping is a crucial part of compliance with workplace laws, and the penalty imposed is a warning to all employers to prioritise getting their records right," Booth said.
In a statement, UNSW apologised to staff affected by the record-keeping failures and expressed regret for the impact on employees.
"We deeply regret these failures in record-keeping and sincerely apologise to the staff affected," the UNSW spokesperson told HRD in a statement.
"Since these issues were identified, UNSW has implemented significant changes to strengthen payroll and record-keeping governance, clarify pay codes, improve training for managers and administrators, and upgrade systems to support accurate time reporting."
