When you get less than you’re legally entitled to be paid that’s wage theft. This can include underpaying your wages, penalty rates, superannuation, overtime or entitlements such as sick, annual or carers leave or making unauthorised deductions from your pay. Even paying you late can be wage theft as it can mean you incur penalties for late bill payments.

A common type of wage theft is being asked to do lots of unpaid overtime, which brings your hourly pay rate down dramatically, or perhaps you’re paid a flat rate without any penalty rates.

One of our state’s largest aged care providers underpaid workers by not complying with their legal requirements around broken shifts. Funnily enough, these same workers had previously been bullied into signing new broken shift agreements.

At another Tassie disability services workplace staff were being rostered for 9 hour shifts even though their staff agreement stipulated 8-hour shifts with a fixed allowance, and they weren’t getting paid for that extra hour each shift.

Wage theft affects workers but flows onto all of us because it means employers get away with paying less payroll tax and income tax. It has a serious impact on you, and your employer can face substantial penalties, but it’s sadly become a business model and employers are profiting from it.

We get many calls and emails about unpaid wages, allowances and overtime. If you don't think you’ve been paid correctly, we’re always here to help you to check the pay records and hold employers to account. Just give us a call.