Six workers in Albury-Wodonga have been back-paid a total of $48,700 following recent intervention by the Fair Work Ombudsman.


The largest recovery was $31,100 for two workers at a Wodonga consultancy.

 

The employees - a male and female in their 40s - lodged complaints with the Fair Work Ombudsman after they were incorrectly classified as independent contractors and underpaid annual leave and long service leave entitlements.

 

After a Fair Work inspector contacted the business and explained its obligations, the workers were reimbursed all the money owed without the need for further action against the employer.

 

The two workers were back-paid $17,700 and $13,400 respectively.

 

In a separate case, three retail workers in Albury have been back-paid $11,100 after they were underpaid the minimum hourly rate.

 

And in another case, an Albury shop assistant has been back-paid $6500 after she was underpaid annual leave entitlements.

 

Between July 1, 2009 and December 31, 2011 the Fair Work Ombudsman recovered a total of $68.2 million for 41,224 underpaid workers nationally.

 

“When we find mistakes, we’re here to assist and give practical advice to employers on how to voluntarily fix them,” says Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson.

 

Mr Wilson says that the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Assisted Voluntary Resolution team is now achieving resolution of about half its referrals with the first month.

 

“These Albury-Wodonga businesses have now corrected the errors that led to the underpayments and put processes in place to ensure they will not happen again.”

 

More information about independent contracting and sham contracting is at www.fairwork.gov.au/contractors.