Hungry Jack's to back pay staff more than $104,000

(Source Payroll News) A Hungry Jack’s fast food outlet in central Victoria has been penalised for underpaying its staff for more than four years. 

The Federal Magistrates Court ordered the operator of the Bendigo outlet to pay a penalty of $46,200, after the company volunteered to pay back more than $104,000 it owed to its staff, who were mostly junior employees. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman said most of the underpayments resulted from the company failing to upgrade wage rates as required for the employees’ length of service. This resulted in underpayments of the minimum hourly rate, overtime and public holiday rates. 

The company also underpaid or failed to pay annual leave entitlements and a laundry allowance. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman said as well as repaying its workers, the company had appointed a new payroll adviser. 

The ruling comes in the wake of an official audit revealing a quarter of Australian employers in the $240 billion retail industry were underpaying staff or failing to record work times and wages properly. 

The Fair Work Ombudsman's random inspection of almost 1900 businesses found 26 per cent were breaking workplace laws or regulations - many unwittingly.
 

The findings have retailers fearing a huge bill, with sector's peak body, the Australian Retailers Association, warning there could be millions more owed in back pay because many of the 140,000 businesses were confused about their new obligations under the changed industrial relations regime and the change to a federal system. 

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