The Fair Work Ombudsman slams yet another university – requiring QUT to accept an enforceable undertaking as part of penalties for underpaying 433 continuing/casual staff (it is checking for more). They are owed amounts ranging from $10 to $78,000.
All up, the university has already paid people $1.9m. QUT first found a problem in 2019 and fessed up to the FWO in 2021.
It is the usual problem among universities, with management not paying people the rate for jobs specified in the enterprise agreement. Or in QUT’s case, agreements. Staff were dudded what they were owed under the EAs of 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Such stuff-ups are commonly called wage theft but if QUT is like other universities, it is more accurately described as incompetence – with management not understanding the terms the university signed or ensuring they were enforced.
The FWO responds with an enforceable undertaking, requiring QUT to keep staff informed and take complaints, make sure everybody owed is paid, fix its systems, make compliance a standing agenda item for Council and pay $250,000 “in contrition” – a charity that works on fair conditions for cleaners gets the money. (It used to go to Consolidated Revenue).
On FC’s count this is the ninth enforceable undertaking imposed on a university, following Griffith, Charles Sturt, La Trobe, Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong and UTS.
Last December, Uni Melbourne admitted to underpaying staff $72m and the FWO responded with a range of operational requirements on the university , including requiring Council to get involved in oversighting staff management. And in the same week, Uni Sydney was slugged a $500,000 say-sorry with a range of required improvements for underpaying people $19m plus $4m for interest and super.
The FWO has also won against Uni Melbourne in the Federal Court and a judgement is pending in a case against UNSW.
All up, the Ombudsman, states, $176m was recovered 2019-24 for 80,000 staff across universities who were not paid correct amounts.