$65k back-paid to hair and beauty workers in Queensland
12 August 2013
The Fair Work Ombudsman has recovered more than $65,000 for workers in
Queensland as part of a national campaign focusing on hair and beauty
salons.
Of the 212 audits completed across Queensland, Fair Work Inspectors found
that 124 employers (58 per cent) were compliant with workplace laws, while 88
(42 per cent) were in breach.
Of those in breach, 56 businesses were found to have underpaid 132 employees
a total of $65,048, while others had record-keeping and technical
contraventions.
Businesses found to have underpaid staff were at locations including
Brisbane, Ayr, Bundaberg, Cairns, Caboolture, Gold Coast, Ipswich,
Mackay, Maroochydore, Toowoomba and Townsville.
The audits found that a significant number of Queensland employers were
underpaying their staff because they were not paying correct penalty rates and
had failed to apply annual wage increases.
Nationally, Fair Work Inspectors completed audits of 858 randomly selected
hair and beauty salons as part of the campaign and found 384 (45 per cent) were
meeting their obligations under workplace laws, while 474 (55 per cent) were in
breach.
Of those in breach, 295 businesses were found to have underpaid 635 employees
a total of $369,770, while many others had only record-keeping and technical
contraventions.
Underpayments at individual salons nationally ranged from less than $10 up to
the biggest underpayment of $16,064 of six employees at a
Darwin salon.
Queensland had the highest compliance rate of 58 per cent, followed by NT (55
per cent), NSW (48 per cent), SA (41 per cent), Tasmania (40 per cent), WA (36
per cent), Victoria (25 per cent) and ACT (21 per cent).
Fair Work Ombudsman, Natalie James, said Fair Work Inspectors assisted all
employers to voluntarily rectify non-compliance issues and put processes in
place to ensure they were not repeated.
"While the overall contravention rate was concerning, it is pleasing that all
employers were willing to back-pay their staff without the need for further
action," Ms James said.
The campaign focused on hair, nail and beauty salons in metropolitan and
regional areas, including many independently owned and operated salons.
Ms James said the campaign was prompted by the sector consistently generating
a significant number of complaints to the Fair Work Ombudsman each year.
"The campaign aimed to ensure workers were receiving their full entitlements
and to make sure employers in the industry were aware of their obligations under
workplace laws," she said.
"We are conscious that the hair and beauty industry employs a significant
number of young workers who can be vulnerable if they are not fully aware of
their rights or are reluctant to complain, so it is important we are proactive
about ensuring they are being paid correctly."
Ms James said it was disappointing that the compliance rate discovered during
the campaign was lower than the 62 per cent compliance rate found during a
national campaign in 2009 focusing on the hair and beauty industry.
"We were also disappointed that some employers are still not aware of the
need to pay their employees for compulsory in-house and external training, when
it is not part of vocational training.
"We worked closely with key industry bodies as part of the campaign to ensure
they were provided with important information to promote compliance with
workplace laws amongst their members."
As part of the campaign, the Fair Work Ombudsman
wrote to more than 17,000 hair and beauty businesses nationally to highlight the
free, tailored resources at www.fairwork.gov.au/hairandbeauty
to help them to understand and comply with workplace laws as easily as
possible.
The resources include templates for time-and-wages sheets and pay slips, the
PayCheck Plus tool to help employers calculate the correct pay for staff, an
educational webinar and links to information on workplace laws relating to
apprentices and trainees.
As part of the campaign, the Fair Work Ombudsman also distributed 60,000
educational postcards aimed at young hair and beauty industry workers through
cafes, bars, tertiary institutes and other venues nationally.
Ms James said the Fair Work Ombudsman would continue to focus educational and
compliance activities on the hair and beauty industry, including working with
key employer organisations to improve business operators' awareness of workplace
laws.
Employers and workers seeking advice or assistance
should visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline
on 13 13 94. An interpreter service is available on 13
14 50.
Download the report:
Follow the Fair Work Ombudsman on Twitter @fairwork_gov_au
or find us on Facebook
.
Media inquiries:
Penny Rowe, Media & Stakeholder
Relations
0457 924 146
media@fwo.gov.au
Want to save this information for later?
If you might need to read this information again, save it for later so you can access it quickly and easily.
Page reference No: 3196