Are you being paid correctly?

In the past couple of years, more Australians have been victims or ‘wage theft’: these are the workers who have been wrongfully paid. The Australian Fair Work Ombudsman’s (FWO) recovered more than $532 million for 384,805 short-changed workers — a record sum for a record number of employees (2021-2022 annual report). What’s even more alarming is that the number is “three times higher than the previous record recoveries in 2020-21, and more than quadruple that achieved in 2019-20”.

If you’re wondering if you’re also one of the affected, here you can find a few key points to analyse:

Keep track of your payslips

It is a legal requirement in every state for employers to provide a payslip to each of their employees. In fact, you should receive it within one working day day for payment day, even if you are on leave. Both digital and print versions are valid, as long as the information on them is the same. If your payslips have not been sent to you or you’re receiving them with delay the FWO can give you advice or you can also report your employer.

What a payslip should include

The FWO states that these are the main data that should be included on your payslip:

• your name
• your employer’s name
• your employer’s Australian Business Number (ABN)
• the dates of the pay period
• the date of payment
• your gross and net pay
• if you’re paid hourly: your ordinary hourly pay rate, number of hours worked at that rate and the total dollar amount of pay at that rate
• any loadings (including casual loading), allowances, bonuses, penalty rates, incentive-based payments or other paid entitlements
• the pay rate that applied on the last day of employment
• any deductions from your pay, including the amount and details of each deduction, as well as the details of the fund or account the deduction was paid into
• superannuation contributions paid for your benefit, including the amount made during the pay period or the amount that needs to be made and the details of the super fund the contributions were made to or will be made to.

On their FWO website, a payslip template is available for employers to create a payslip and employees to compare their current ones.

The right amount

Now that we’ve dissected the payslip, it’s time to analyse the pay rate. If you don’t even know the ball park figures for salaries in your industry, the FWO’s pay calculator can be a great tool check base pay rate, allowances and penalty rates.

The calculator helps find the right industry award each employee should be paid under and requires a number of questions about employment, such as if the individual works full-time, part-time or casual worker. Several professional associations or industry unions also offer free contract and wage reviews for their members as well.

According to the Ombudsman, employees have the right to be paid the correct rate for all time worked, even for training, trial shifts or team meetings.

Faulty payslip

It’s against the law for employers to give their workers false or misleading payslips. To the extent that the employer could even be taken to court for wage theft and companies and individuals could face a hefty fine, with possible imprisonment for individuals, if found guilty.

Of course, no one likes going to court. That’s why some lawyers would suggest the employee to start a conversation with the employer or taking advantage of the FWO’s tool to write a letter to send it, requesting full employment records.

The FWO encourages employees and employers to sort issues out themselves in the workplace where possible, and offers a range of resources that could help.

The Ombudsman recommends employees talk to their employer about their concerns. If the employer needs to pay back unpaid wages, the FWO states that they have to do so as soon as possible, as either part of a normal pay cycle or a special payment.

If there are any complications in the process or both parties fail to reach an agreement, it’s time for the employee to reach out to the FWO on 13 13 94 and lodge a complaint.

What about superannuation?

Super & payslips

The main thing that needs to be checked is whether or not the correct superannuation entitlements are being paid.

Employees are entitled to be paid the 10.5% super guarantee on top of their gross income, which employers must pay at least quarterly, if these are:

• over 18 years old; or
• under 18 years old and working over 30 hours per week.

The super guarantee percentage will rise by 0.5% every financial year until it reaches 12%.

Before 1 July 2022, employers did not have to pay super guarantee for workers earning less than $450 a month, but now they have to pay regardless of the worker’s earnings. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has a handy tool to check if employees are eligible to receive super from their employer.

The super account

Keep in mind that even if the payslip is showing super being paid, that doesn’t necessarily mean the correct amount of money is being transferred into the super account. According to the ATO, employees should log in to their MyGov account and access their super records – via the ATO link in the portal – to check individual deposits. Most employers pay super at different times: the FWO states that super has to be paid every three months, which is the case for most businesses. The ATO warns there are harsh penalties for employers who do not pay staff their correct super entitlements or offer a choice of super fund.