this post was submitted on 29 Dec 2024
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Australian bosses on notice as 'deliberate' wage theft becomes a crime (www.abc.net.au)
submitted 3 months ago by MHLoppy@fedia.io to c/australia@aussie.zone
7 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Australian bosses could go to jail for 10 years and be fined $1.65 million if they "deliberately" underpay their workers, as part of new laws that nationally criminalise wage theft from January 1.

The new laws and penalties follow years of underpayment scandals in Australia, with cases at prominent employers including Woolworths, Chatime, Qantas, NAB, BHP, 7-Eleven and the ABC.

Until now, the federal body that investigates wage theft has only been able to go after companies and their directors using civil laws, which don't come with the threat of jail time.

Now Fair Work will be able to go after them using criminal laws too.

But it will have to prove that the employer intentionally avoided paying a worker appropriate wages and penalties, superannuation or other entitlements.

"This doesn’t include honest mistakes," a Fair Work spokesperson told ABC News.

[...]

Any individual found guilty could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $1.65 million, while liable companies could be fined up to $8.25 million.

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[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 1 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Further deep dive thought: any instance of wage theft - 'accidental' or otherwise- prompts an immediate audit into the entire business and all employee pay rates.

[–] trk@aussie.zone 1 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I'm surprised it hasn't been a law already?? Forget calling it "wage theft", it's literally just "theft".

[–] NaevaTheRat@vegantheoryclub.org 1 points 3 months ago

I'm surprised it hasn't been a law already??

why would it be? the people who make laws don't work for wages, they pay them.

[–] spiffmeister@aussie.zone 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

"deliberate" seems like a pretty high bar. Of course it doesn't stop employer groups crying that literally stealing is being made illegal.

[–] pupbiru@aussie.zone 1 points 3 months ago

i’d imagine if an employee brings up that they’re being underpaid (perhaps anonymously), and then nothing changes then that constituted deliberate

[–] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 0 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Wow, kinda late on that one. Also, deliberate can be difficult to prove. I'm not entitled to break the law by accident, so why are they?

[–] MisterFrog@aussie.zone 1 points 1 month ago

It's not hard (this isn't legal advice). If you find there has been an error (intentional or otherwise), document it, send it to them in writing.

They're now fucked if they are in the wrong because now they know, and if they continue to not pay you, or threaten you job over it, they're risking a lot more than before.