‘Genuinely sorry’: Westpac signs EU after underpaying $50m

Banking giant Westpac has back-paid nearly 47,000 staff more than $50 million and signed an enforceable undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Westpac Banking Corporation has entered an EU with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to back pay close to 47,000 staff over $50 million for underpayments over an 11-year period, which were primarily caused by failures in Westpac’s systems, governance processes, and compliance oversight.

FWO began to investigate the wages and entitlements of staff in December 2020 after Westpac self-reported its underpayments.

Further shortcomings, the FWO said in a statement, included inadequate record-keeping, reliance on systems requiring manual adjustments, and input errors.

In breach of multiple Westpac Group enterprise agreements, the FWO said, employees were underpaid their casual loading and minimum wages for ordinary hours, allowances such as for higher duties and weekend penalties, termination payments, leave payments and more.

“The most common entitlements underpaid were the incorrect deduction of leave and time off in lieu of public holidays; additional hours for part-time employees; superannuation (under the enterprise agreements); underpayments related to incorrect grade and classification levels; and meal allowances,” it said.

To date, the ombudsman continued, Westpac has back-paid a total of more than $50.26 million, plus almost $9 million in interest and applicable superannuation, to nearly 47,000 current and former staff who were underpaid between January 2014 and February 2025.

The average back payment was about $1,000.

Westpac must also make an $800,000 contribution payment to the Commonwealth Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The EU further requires that Westpac: ensure its board is appropriately informed of compliance matters; establish a dedicated channel for employees to raise concerns about their entitlements; consult regularly with employees and the Finance Sector Union; and give mandatory training on monetary worker entitlements to relevant staff.

In a statement provided to HR Leader, a spokesperson for Westpac said that the bank “uncovered these issues as part of our own review in 2020 and when we found them, we immediately moved to put things right”.

“We’re genuinely sorry this happened,” the spokesperson said.

“Paying our people correctly is a fundamental obligation which we take seriously, and we apologise again to all affected employees.”

“As part of our comprehensive remediation program, we repaid those affected, including employees who have since left the company. We did not ask anyone who has been overpaid to repay any money,” the spokesperson continued.

“We’ve also updated our systems and processes, investing significantly to better manage entitlements.”

Anna Booth, the Fair Work Ombudsman, said that an EU was an appropriate outcome, as Westpac had fully cooperated with the FWO’s investigation and demonstrated a strong commitment to rectifying its non-compliance issues and ensuring future compliance.

“Westpac has made full back-payments for all underpayments owed to employees it could locate. This includes back-payments extending well beyond the six-year liability limitation period.”

“Under the EU, it has committed to rectifying any future underpayments it identifies in full, plus interest and superannuation, and implementing stringent measures to ensure all staff are paid correctly in future,” she said.

“This includes commissioning an independent audit to check compliance with workplace laws, and reporting back to the FWO about its findings.”

Booth added that the matter served as an important reminder to employers, in particular large corporates, to place a high priority on ensuring all employees’ lawful entitlements are met.

“The matter serves as a warning of the significant long-running problems that can result from an employer failing to have appropriate checks and balances to ensure workplace compliance. We expect better from large corporates such as Westpac. They must meet their legal obligations under their own enterprise agreements and underlying awards,” she said.

“Improving compliance among large corporates is a Fair Work Ombudsman priority, and we’ve helped recover more than $1.1 billion for workers from large corporates in the last five financial years.”

“We cannot overstate the importance of sound governance and proper board oversight of employee wage and entitlement compliance,” Booth continued.

“I commend Westpac for the commitments it has made to strengthening its processes on worker voice and executive governance. Ensuring that workers have real mechanisms and ongoing support to raise concerns and ask questions means small issues can be addressed before growing into widespread problems.”

“Other large corporate employers should take note of the positive changes that Westpac has made as part of this EU. A proper investment in meeting employer obligations will see workers receive their legal entitlements, at the same time as reducing the risks and costs for the business associated with non-compliance,” she said.