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Chain store staff ‘underpaid with no payslips’ walk out
(www.brisbanetimes.com.au)
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this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
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Big yikes. Important note: wage theft is not federally recognised as theft in Australia at present. Some states have laws recognising it as such, and the Albanese Government is currently working on laws to recognise it federally.
Right now, intentional wage theft might result in a fine that is a small fraction of the money that was actually stolen. The proposal is to make it a multiple of like 3–4x what was stolen, to truly discourage stealing people's wages.
Every person in the management chain should face criminal theft charges as well.
There actually is something about prison time being considered too.
ABC link.
The problem I have is that could face will translate to never in actual application.
Yeah. The fact that they're very particularly wanting to ensure it only happens with "deliberate" underpayment is a little concerning. Prosecutors would have to prove intent.
Like, I get it. It's a bit harsh if you do accidentally underpay workers and end up risking gaol time. But on the other hand, as an employer your literal only job is to ensure the people actually doing the work get paid.
I'd probably say that if the total amount underpaid exceeds some number (I don't know what that number is), intentionality is automatically presumed. That still allows small businesses making genuine mistakes in the clear, while companies large enough to be able to do better, or anyone who underpays each employee by a large enough amount, is forced to ensure they do the right thing.
That is so incredibly sketchy.