Company pays out after short-changing staff

A DANDENONG transport company which was formally cautioned last year after short-changing its staff thousands of dollars now faces enforcement action after admitting further underpayments.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has required that long distance trucking business Logistics 1 enters into an enforceable undertaking.
Last year the company received a letter of caution after it was found to have short-changed 41 staff almost $25,000.
The Fair Work Ombudsman received another request for assistance from a Logistics 1 employee in January who was also found to have been underpaid more than $2300.
“Unfortunately the company failed to learn from its earlier mistakes,” Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said.
Ms James said Logistics 1 had now signed a workplace pact which was designed to encourage behavioural change and future compliance with workplace laws.
Logistics 1 will provide a written apology to staff for its behaviour and give a commitment that it will not happen again.
Further, the company will commission workplace relations training for its managers and engage an external professional to review its pay practices over a two-year period.
The enforceable undertaking also requires the company to use the Fair Work Ombudsman’s My Account online tool, as well as subscribe to the bi-monthly employer newsletter and pay rate alerts for the Road Transport (Long Distance Operations) Award 2010.
The company has also agreed to report back to the Fair Work Ombudsman on the systems and processes it implements to ensure future workplace compliance.
Logistics 1 director Mark Lowe said the company had a timeframe to which it was working to satisfy the requirments of the enforceable undertaking.
“We are working closely with the Fair Work Ombudsman to identify these incidents, of which there haven’t been many,“ he said.
Ms James said enforceable undertakings were introduced by legislation in 2009 and the Fair Work Ombudsman has been using them against companies that breach workplace laws without the need for civil court proceedings.
“We use enforceable undertakings where we have formed a view that a breach of the law has occurred, but where the employer has acknowledged this and accepted responsibility and agreed to co-operate and fix the problem,” Ms James said.
Employers and employees seeking further information or advice are encouraged to visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice.