By Brigitta Poulos
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has proudly announced in its annual report that it has taken a record number of cases to court. This announcement follows the FWO’s decision to prioritise the investigation of universities and corporations for violations of the Fair Work Act 2009.
The announcement came as the FWO’s 2021-22 report was released in mid-October. According to the report, the Ombudsman initiated 137 cases, up 80 per cent from 2020-21, and well-exceeding its target.
The numbers should capture the attention of any business wanting to maintain compliance with HR and employment laws in Australia.
The report also boasts that the FWO “Completed 18,622 disputes and a further 810 targeted compliance activities in high-risk sectors” and started taking action in the contract cleaning sector – a new priority area for compliance. Also in its report, the FWO says it finalised 393 “matters” involving large corporates (companies with incomes exceeding $250 million) and recovered almost $280 million dollars for 267,199 employees.
It’s a worry for large businesses; the report emphasises that in 2021 the FWO added a dedicated Large Corporates Branch at the same time as commencing legal action against Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd (Coles), alleging it underpaid around 7,800 salaried employees more than $110 million. This is the largest independent calculation exercise the FWO has undertaken in an investigation to date.
Furthermore, in October 2021, the FWO commenced proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Commonwealth Securities Limited (CommSec) alleging CBA failed to comply with its Enterprise Agreement obligations, resulting in underpayments totalling $10.05 million to 4,999 employees, and that CommSec failed to pay $6.39 million to 2,426 employees.
Even universities are being strongly reminded about compliance
Universities have now been added to the FWO’s priority list, with multiple investigations commenced and the FWO stating: “Our intelligence indicates that underpayments have become systemic in the sector.”
The watchdog’s investigations have uncovered in universities what it calls “A trend of poor governance and management oversight, a lack of centralised human resources functions and inadequate investment in payroll and time-recording systems.”
Self-reporting
Many large corporates are on their way to becoming self-reporting and compliant, with 68 per cent of the almost $279 million recovered from large corporates this year resulting from self-disclosures.
The regulator adds that its interactions with big companies “send a message that all employers, especially large corporates, must place a higher priority on addressing payroll issues, enhancing workplace relations systems, and engaging expertise to ensure they are paying employees all their lawful entitlements“.
The takeaway lessons for you as an Australian business:
- If you are unsure whether your business is meeting compliance requirements, call HR Assured’s Telephone Advisory Service.
- Be sure to read HR Assured’s emails as updates come in about changes to modern awards and minimum wage entitlements.
- It may be time to audit your HR set-up and address any compliance issues before problems occur, in which case you can begin organising a business HR audit
Put it this way: if large Australian corporations can get their HR and employment law compliance wrong, then it’s easy to see how small-to-medium businesses can get caught out.
Because HR Assured wants to help businesses understand where things can go wrong, what the consequences are, and how they can be avoided in the first place, we have created this eBook: Staying on the right side of the Fair Work Ombudsman. It’s a guide for businesses on mistakes made, the consequences and how to avoid them. Inside this valuable resource, we analyse the FWO’s activities over the past three years and identify the trends in their actions. If you’re a business owner or operator looking to protect your brand and avoid workplace compliance matters, it’s a must-read. Download your free copy today.
If you have a question about workplace compliance or you’d like to discuss ways you can protect your business, please reach out to our Workplace Relations Advisors via our 24/7 Telephone Advisory Service.
Not an HR Assured client? If you’d like more information about the benefits of becoming an HR Assured client contact us today for an informal chat.
Brigitta Poulos is a Workplace Relations Consultant with HR Assured who loves helping clients and businesses achieve excellent workplace compliance with their obligations and duties, by way of interpretation of relevant employment legislation and awards. She particularly enjoys researching and explaining new or ‘hot’ topics in the workplace relations and human resources fields to our clients.