[Australia] Service station must pay staff $2.3m entitlements after payroll error

In Australia, service station company On The Run - one of South Australia’s largest private employers - has been directed to back pay or credit $2.3 million staff entitlements, Sky News reports.

Following complaints from many employees, the Fair Work Ombudsman launched an investigation, visiting 15 sites, interviewing employees and managers and reviewing time and wage records.

The Fair Work Ombudsman reportedly discovered that On The Run owed 1,524 workers annual leave.

The investigation found that between July 2018 and February 2023, 1,524 On The Run employees were not correctly identified as shift workers. This led to four weeks of annual leave accruement instead of the correct five.

Now the company must back-pay 934 former employees $975,820. This includes $792,685 in annual leave, $138,720 in leave loading and $44,415 interest.

On The Run has reportedly had to credit $1.3 million in entitlements, including leave loading, for 590 current workers who were owed more than 43,900 hours of annual leave.

The affected employees were primarily console operators or roadhouse attendants in South Australia. The pay of Victorian employees in Horsham, Mildura, Ararat, and Traralgon was also impacted.

In a statement, Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the matter serves as a warning to all employers about what is at stake if they fail to categorise employees correctly.

“In this matter, a failure to correctly identify employees as shift workers led to long-term breaches, and significant staff underpayments and rectification costs,” Ms Booth said.

“Large employers need to place a much higher priority on having systems and processes in place that ensure employees’ full lawful entitlements are met, year-in, year-out.”

Source: Sky News

(Quotes via original reporting)

In Australia, service station company On The Run - one of South Australia’s largest private employers - has been directed to back pay or credit $2.3 million staff entitlements, Sky News reports.

Following complaints from many employees, the Fair Work Ombudsman launched an investigation, visiting 15 sites, interviewing employees and managers and reviewing time and wage records.

The Fair Work Ombudsman reportedly discovered that On The Run owed 1,524 workers annual leave.

The investigation found that between July 2018 and February 2023, 1,524 On The Run employees were not correctly identified as shift workers. This led to four weeks of annual leave accruement instead of the correct five.

Now the company must back-pay 934 former employees $975,820. This includes $792,685 in annual leave, $138,720 in leave loading and $44,415 interest.

On The Run has reportedly had to credit $1.3 million in entitlements, including leave loading, for 590 current workers who were owed more than 43,900 hours of annual leave.

The affected employees were primarily console operators or roadhouse attendants in South Australia. The pay of Victorian employees in Horsham, Mildura, Ararat, and Traralgon was also impacted.

In a statement, Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the matter serves as a warning to all employers about what is at stake if they fail to categorise employees correctly.

“In this matter, a failure to correctly identify employees as shift workers led to long-term breaches, and significant staff underpayments and rectification costs,” Ms Booth said.

“Large employers need to place a much higher priority on having systems and processes in place that ensure employees’ full lawful entitlements are met, year-in, year-out.”

Source: Sky News

(Quotes via original reporting)