Unpaid wages drama hits our education system

Another day, another unpaid wage case. This time, it’s reached our education sector.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has begun legal action against UNSW over alleged wage theft. The National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) has welcomed the action as more and more universities are getting caught up in these types of allegations.

“The sheer number of wage theft legal proceedings against public universities is damning evidence this shocking practice is rife across the sector,” said NTEU national president Dr Alison Barnes.

“The insecure work explosion in universities prepared the ground for wage theft to spread like wildfire.”

The Fair Work Ombudsman has alleged that between 2017 and 2022, UNSW breached the Fair Work Act by not properly paying the wages of staff. The action concerns a reported 66 casual staff at UNSW Business School.

According to the NTEU, Australian university staff have been underpaid around $107.8 million in recent years, an estimate described as a “conservative” one.

Dr Barnes continued: “The universities accord must address the fundamental issues which have led to university staff having more than $100 million in wages stolen.”

“The governance model is completely broken. Vice-chancellors and senior executives must be held to account for baking wage theft into universities’ business models.”

The issue of university underpayment has been prevalent for some time, with many institutions admitting to the breaches. As of February 2023, twenty-three universities and colleges across the country had admitted to underpaying casual staff.

Universities must take these issues seriously if issues of underpayment are to be stamped out, said NTEU NSW division secretary Vince Caughley.

“The wage theft crisis that has engulfed the state’s universities is a disgrace. It’s well established that staff working conditions have a strong correlation with student learning conditions,” said Mr Caughley.

“So, it’s obvious that systemic wage theft is having far-reaching consequences beyond employees.”

One of the causes of these issues, according to NTEU UNSW branch president Richard Vickery, is the increased workloads due to various job cuts back in 2021.

“These latest allegations which stem from UNSW self-reporting wage theft are shocking but not surprising given the proliferation of insecure work at the university,” said Mr Vickery.

“As we’ve seen at so many universities around Australia, casual staff are on the receiving end of what the ombudsman alleges are serious contraventions of workplace law. Management must show it is serious about fixing the unacceptable practices that have sadly led us to this point.”

Conducting a payroll audit is a great way to ensure compliance is met. There are some ways to make this process as effective as possible and minimise the risk of running into legal trouble.

Pay Cat listed five considerations for conducting an effective payroll audit:

1. Identify and review applicable pay conditions.
2. Compare current pay rates and time and attendance records.
3. Review your payroll tax and superannuation obligations.
4. Review and organise all your payroll records.
5. Payroll reconciliation.