09/12/2020
Big penalties for wage theft and ‘part-time flex’ work in major industrial shake-up
There will also be a bid to slash the number of pay classifications in the awards,
which can number in the dozens, to try to prevent accidental underpayment by
confused employers, the sources said.
The commission will only have until the end of March, when the JobKeeper wage
subsidy expires, to craft the changes. That sets up an intense period of jockeying
by businesses and unions over how high or low the new rates should be, with
potentially millions of workers’ pay and businesses’ profitability on the line.
It comes after months of talks this year on industrial reforms, which identified
problem areas such as underpayment but failed to produce consensus on
solutions.
Companies from Woolworths to big law firms and high end restaurants have been
caught underpaying staff in some cases up to hundreds of millions of dollars.
Under the new bill, negligent underpayment will attract higher penalties and low
level courts will be able to handle claims of up to $50,000 to help workers get
money back faster. Big businesses caught underpaying their workers will be up for
fines equalling three times the benefit gained from dudding their staff.
The "part-time flexi" role overhauls current rules that mandate part-timers have
set hours each week, with extra shifts attracting overtime payments.
The government’s plan allows part-timers in accommodation, food and retail to
take on extra shifts above their regular roster and a threshold of 16 hours a week
without overtime. It estimates it will help the almost 30 per cent of retail and 37
per cent of hospitality workers who want more hours.
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry lashed the criminal
underpayment rules.
"Criminalising underpayments risks tipping the scale against anyone who wants
to do business or employ anyone in this country," ACCI chief executive James
Pearson said.
Both Mr Pearson and Innes Willox, chief executive of the 60,000 member
Australian Industry Group, said there needed to be greater simplicity in workplace
laws if the government was to penalise contravening them more heavily.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus welcomed the plans
but said the bar for criminal prosecution had been set too high. "It is unlikely any
employer will ever be caught," Ms McManus said.
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https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/big-penalties-for-wage-theft-and-part-time-flex-work-in-major-industrial-shake-up-20201207-p56las.html
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