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Unpaid Wages

unfair dismissal reasons

The Right Pay Dilemma

By | Unfair Dismissal, Unpaid Wages, Workplace Rights and Entitlements

Getting Paid the Right Amount

Being paid the right amount for hard work is an employee’s absolute right.  Incorrect or unpaid wages can seriously impact the working relationship between employee and employer.

The complex and often overlapping maze of awards, enterprise agreements and employment contracts often over complicates a basic and fundamental employee entitlement.  This maze of contractual terms often has the effect of confusing entitlements relating to overtime, penalty rates, time off in lieu and other employee entitlements.

Unfortunately, and perhaps because the system is complex, employers happen to apply the wrong minimum rate of pay for work performed.  Sometimes the employee is at fault, sometimes the adviser also gets it wrong.  Either way, ignorance is no excuse.

A recent case in the Federal Circuit Court has shown that even ‘expert’ advisers can get it wrong.  In this case, Ezy Accounting 123 Pty Ltd was pursued by the Fair Work Ombudsman for providing the employer with the wrong advice.

Whilst this is a potentially ground-breaking case in terms of extending the persons responsible for getting it wrong, it doesn’t change the fact that an employee should be paid the right rate for putting in a hard day’s work.  Unpaid wages are a genuine problem in businesses across Australia.

The good news is that the process for trying to recover your unpaid wages is fairly straightforward.  Often it will involve making a demand and then (if the matter is not resolved) seeking help from either the Fair Work Ombudsman or the relevant Court or Commission.

At Anderson Gray, we’d love help out anyone who’s been paid the wrong amount – because employees deserve the right pay for hard work done. Get in touch with our Melbourne unfair dismissal lawyers.