FWO orders $25k backpay for apprentice floor layer

Equal pay same payment rights for man and woman on work marked fair payment opportunities with same salary, road sign billboard.

The Fair Work Ombudsman orders backpay of $25,000 for a young tradie as part of a campaign to return a total of $3.85 million in underpaid wages and entitlements to 2132 employees as a result of their employers entering into Enforceable Undertakings.

A western Sydney commercial flooring company has reimbursed an apprentice floor layer almost $25,000 after an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found he had been underpaid over two years. The Fair Work Ombudsman orders backpay of $25,000 be paid as part of the enforcement action against the company, Pampost Pty Ltd, trading as Bass Floor Company at Guildford West, as a result of the underpayment.

The adult apprentice was shortchanged $24,920 as a result of being underpaid his minimum wages and entitlements under the Building and Construction General On-site Award.

The company was audited in March this year as part of a Fair Work Ombudsman pro-active compliance and education campaign across western Sydney.

The audit revealed that the full-time apprentice had been paid junior rates between 1 October 2014 and 30 June 2016.

Fair Work inspectors also observed that the company had a practice of paying tool allowances into a “kitty” from which staff purchased tools as and when required, instead of paying it direct to employees.

Fair Work Ombudsman Ms Natalie James says Pampost Pty Ltd cooperated with the Agency and has rectified the underpaid wages and amended its workplace practices.

The company and its sole director, Mr Timothy Minogue, have entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman aimed at encouraging behavioural change and future compliance with workplace laws.

Enforceable Undertakings were introduced by legislation in 2009 and the Fair Work Ombudsman has been using them to achieve strong outcomes against companies that breach workplace laws, without the need for civil court proceedings.

“We use Enforceable Undertakings where we have formed a view that a breach of the law has occurred, but where the employer has acknowledged this, accepted responsibility and agreed to co-operate and fix the problem,’’ James says.

Between 2015 and 2016, a total of $3.85 million in underpaid wages and entitlements was returned to 2132 employees as a result of their employers entering into Enforceable Undertakings with the Fair Work Ombudsman, up slightly on the $3.75 million recovered for 2507 workers the previous year.

James says the Fair Work Ombudsman is committed to helping employers understand and comply with workplace laws. But operators need to make an effort to get the basics right in the first place.

“The Fair Work Ombudsman is striving to build a culture of compliance where businesses understand and comply with their lawful obligations,” James says.

Inside Small Business