Unpaid workers at the St Helens RSL community club have been awarded back pay totalling $31,084 after an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman. The eleven employees were short-changed between 2008 and 2011, with the underpayments ranging from $367 to $14,316
The Fair Work Ombudsman investigated after the United Voice union reported that employees were not getting meal breaks. Others breaches of the Fair Work Act included: misclassifying staff, failing to pay “broken work” allowances; failing to provide a 30-minute meal break after five hours; failing to compensate for meal breaks which were not provided; and failing to post rosters displaying staff starting and finishing times.
The St Helens RSL, on Tasmania’s East Coast, entered into an “enforceable undertaking” with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The terms of the undertaking required the club to apologise to each of the staff members involved and to pay all outstanding entitlements.
In a letter to each employee, the club “expresses its sincere regret” and apologises for failing to comply with its lawful obligations.
“St Helens RSL commits to current and prospective employees that such conduct will not occur again,” it says in a workplace notice.
The club has also agreed to undertake specialist workplace relations training and engage independent auditors to review and report on its compliance with workplace laws each year for the next three years.
Originally published by News.com.au on JULY 21, 2014 1:29PM
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