The Fair Work Ombudsman checked the books of 178 liquor retailers in metropolitan Sydney and regional NSW last year to assess compliance with the General Retail Industry Award 2010.
Key stakeholders, including the Liquor Stores Association of NSW and the NSW branches of the Shop, Distributive, and Allied Employees Association and Australian Retailers' Association helped promote the education and compliance campaign to their members.
The report shows that 100 employers (56 per cent) were found to be compliant with federal workplace laws, while 78 (44 per cent) recorded wages, penalty rate, pay-slip and record-keeping contraventions.
Fair Work inspectors identified 45 businesses which had collectively underpaid 133 of their employees a total of $107,406.
Inspectors assisted these employers to understand their obligations under the Award and the Fair Work Act and provided information about the Fair Work Ombudsman's free website and Infoline resources.
The report states: "The receptive attitude by most employers was encouraging, and all contraventions were voluntarily rectified."
While most (62 per cent) of the underpayments were for amounts less than $1500, several individual businesses were required to rectify amounts totalling more than $10,000.
The main reason for the underpayments was a lack of awareness of Award provisions by employers, who were paying flat hourly rates which did not take into account appropriate penalties and loadings.
Results across the metropolitan area varied, with the report finding 75 per cent compliance in the Sydney CBD, 67 per cent in the northern suburbs, 60 per cent in the western suburbs, 56 per cent in the south-east and 31 per cent in the south-west.
Compliance rates also varied across regional areas:
- Three Mid-Western and two Macquarie region businesses were fully compliant
- Hunter: 13 of 18 businesses (72 per cent) were compliant. Two outlets at Newcastle and Maitland were found to have underpaid 12 employees a total of $9678,
- Mid North Coast: 11 of 16 businesses (69 per cent) were compliant. Five outlets were found to have underpaid 12 employees a total of $10,015
- Northern Rivers: Five of eight businesses (63 per cent) were compliant. Two businesses were found to have underpaid two employees a total of $1366
- Central Coast: 10 of 20 businesses (50 per cent) were compliant. Five businesses were found to have underpaid 22 employees a total of $7584
- Greater Murray/Riverina: One of two businesses audited was compliant and the other, a Wagga outlet, was found to have underpaid three employees a total of $2620
- Wentworth (Murray-Outback): Two of five businesses (40 per cent) were compliant. Two outlets were found to have underpaid four employees a total of $2002
- Illawarra: Five of 17 businesses (29 per cent) were compliant. Five businesses were found to have underpaid 18 employees a total of $23,815
The report stresses the importance of employers seeking correct advice about the pay rates and entitlements that apply to their employees.
"The results of the campaign clearly demonstrate the need for employers to correctly identify and meet the requirements of their applicable Award," it says.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says that when contraventions were identified, most employers were quick to rectify the issues and accepted assistance to put processes in place to ensure they were not repeated.
"We're confident that as a result of this campaign, employers in this sector are much more aware of their obligations and that they can turn to us for information and advice they can rely on," said James.
Throughout the campaign, Fair Work inspectors informed employers about the range of tools and resources available at the Fair Work website to help them understand and comply with workplace laws.
Online tools include PayCheck Plus and an Award Finder to assist business owners and employees determine the correct award and minimum wages for their industry, templates for pay-slips and time-and-wages records and a range of fact sheets on workplace entitlements.
Each year, the Fair Work Ombudsman runs national, state and regional targeted campaigns focused on various industry sectors as part of its pro-active education and compliance program.
James says the Fair Work Ombudsman has a particular focus on assisting small businesses to understand and meet their obligations to employees.
James explains: "Small businesses often don't have the benefit of in-house human resources and payroll staff, so we place a high priority on assisting them and developing tools and resources to make it easier for them to comply with workplace law."