Almost 70 per cent of retail businesses in Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory are fully compliant with payment laws, random checks by the Fair Work Ombudsman have revealed.
Fair Work inspectors audited a total of 252 retailers throughout SA, WA and the NT, with results showing that more than three quarters of retail businesses in WA and SA, and just over half in NT are fully compliant with payment laws.
They found 69 per cent (175) were fully compliant with pay related laws and 79 per cent (199) were compliant with record keeping and pay slip laws.
Overall, inspectors recovered a total of $60,088 for 238 employees at 48 businesses.
WA had the highest compliance rate for payment laws at 80 per cent, followed by SA at 73 per cent.
Of the 94 audits completed in WA, 12 retailers, at locations including Perth and Broome, were required to back pay 133 underpaid employees a total of $28,966.
A further seven employers had technical pay contraventions, but had not underpaid any employees.
Of 113 audits completed in SA, 23 retailers, at locations including Adelaide, Mount Gambier, Port Pirie and Whyalla, were required to back pay 75 employees a total of $18,273.
A further seven employers had technical pay contraventions, but had not underpaid any staff.
Of the 45 audits completed in the NT, 13 employers, at locations including Alice Springs and Darwin, were required to back pay 30 employees a total of $12,849.
A further 10 employers had technical pay contraventions, but had not underpaid any staff.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James, says the finding is encouraging, but notes some retailers still need to pay greater attention to their workplace obligations.
“However, it was pleasing to see all of the employers accept our assistance, voluntarily back-pay their workers and put processes in place to ensure ongoing compliance,” she said.
Ms James says payment of flat hourly rates, resulting in non-payment of penalty rates, and employers failing to issue sufficiently detailed pay slips, were common non-compliance issues.
The retail sector was selected for attention because it employs a large number of workers and generates a significant number of requests for assistance to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
