Over $750k in entitlements recovered for Victorian workers

Wage Inspectorate Victoria assisted workers who were able to reclaim more than $750,000 in long service leave entitlements.

Victorians across a range of industries, in different types of employment, are jumping for joy as they’ve received their owed underpayments for their long service leave entitlements.

These repayments were the result of over 100 investigations conducted in response to long service leave underpayments and had some large individual underpayments that were reimbursed:

• A worker recovering more than $16,000 with help from the Wage Inspectorate after their employer of 13 years refused to pay their long service leave entitlement when it was due.
• A casual worker in the arts and recreation industry reclaiming over $9,000 with help from the Wage Inspectorate after their employer of 11 years initially refused to pay.

“We helped Victorians reclaim over $750,000 in unpaid long service leave – money that is rightfully theirs. It’s great to see employees being empowered by the Wage Inspectorate to stand up for what they’re owed,” said the commissioner of Wage Inspectorate Victoria, Robert Hortle.

“Long service leave is a longstanding Australian entitlement, and we helped Victorians across a wide range of industries. Whether you’re a full-time worker in finance or a casual retail employee, you deserve your rightful entitlements.”

In total, the regulator prosecuted 17 businesses in 2023–24, which had a profound impact on the offenders who committed these underpayments. Overall, they had to pay $2.1 million in fines and costs.

A few of the big-time corporations were tied up in these fines, with Optus and Woolworths, which pleaded guilty to underpaying long service leave entitlements. Meanwhile, Cold Rock Shepparton, Red Rooster Wodonga and TK Maxx pleaded guilty to breaking child employment laws.

The child employment breaches were a big focus for the past financial year for the inspector, who conducted over 450 child employment compliance monitoring activities across Victoria, which was a 16 per cent increase from the previous year.

A total of 883 child employment licenses were issued by the Wage Inspectorate during the first year of the scheme. This replaced the permit system and enabled businesses to employ multiple children under one licence.

In recent times, there has been a big push to educate employers on the mistakes they are making that can have catastrophic impacts on both their employees and the business.

“We continue to have a big focus on helping businesses understand the laws we enforce, from long service leave to child employment to owner-driver laws. We directly assisted 12,000 people, with many more accessing our online resources,” Hortle said.