my employer isn’t paying me correctly and i’ve just found out isn’t paying my super

[teacher59]

@bensoninabox Depends, I think. A friend was being underpaid as waiter, and the employer kept fogging them off. Friend contacted fair work, and the employer was pissed as they were flagged in the system and contacted - it causes a lot of issues, and employer paid outstanding money straight away. Though going to piss your employer off and uncertain how effective fair work is with big corporations with more power and money.

 

[resjudicata]

@lloyd_walty Fair work does absolutely nothing.
Source: personal experience.

Talk to your employer first and threaten to go to fair work if it's not sorted. If that doesn't work, you'll want a no-win, no-fee lawyer, I guess.

 

[morticia]

@lloyd_walty In my experience, this will not tear anyone a new one.

I’d personally bet $300 that if OP reported this to the ato and fairwork, OP will not get a resolution aided by either body within 12 months. I’m that confident they have such little time for small businesses being shady, that it’s almost guaranteed to be brushed over until they get a very heavy case.

 

[efraim7praise]

@morticia True but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t report it at all. Smaller cases will compound and if they continue to do this shit they will be caught.

 

[jansina]

@breona Sorry to hear about your dad. Terrible news. If you haven't already please have a chat to Lifeline or other help ... your own mental health is really important.

This issue is something you just ask the employer about and if they don't come tot he party go to fair work and the ato. They will set up a regular payment plan for him and you will be paid. Dealt with it several times before with my friends ... it feels scary but is actually simple

 

[quint]

@jansina

Dealt with it several times before with my friends

What a joke. Clearly the penalties for this stuff aren't high enough.

 

[jansina]

@quint It's comman enough for me to have had it from two friends (plus another friend of mine who runs a business and self declared he was unable to pay super to staff he was behind, that was a shitshow but ato were actually decent to deal with).

 

[licatadorothy84]

@breona You can report unpaid super via the ATO

https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-...t-unpaid-super-contributions-from-my-employer

 

[parmabandit]

@licatadorothy84 It is super easy to do this, and the sooner you do it the better. Casually ask other people you work with if they have gotten super. Safety in numbers, all of you make reports to the ATO. Unpaid super is wage theft. This is exactly why the ATO is bringing in super being paid when wages are paid.

 

[resjudicata]

@breona Bankruptcy usually will not save a small business owner from liability under the Fair Work Act. A small business owner will often go into liquidation to try to avoid paying employee entitlements but the court will find the owner personally liable for any underpayment. You can check this yourself by looking at the cases listed on the Austlii website.

You can lodge a Small Claim under the Fair Work Act 2009 if you are owed less than $100,000. You don't need a lawyer to lodge such a claim and the process is semi-formal. Advice can be found here https://www.fairwork.gov.au/workpla...r-help/legal-action-in-the-small-claims-court

and on the court website here https://www.fcfcoa.gov.au/gfl/fairwork-small-claims

 

[resjudicata]

@breona It’s a serious thing not to pay Super and wage theft is being cracked down on by regulators. You definitely need to raise it, but in a constructive way.

You can just say that you are preparing your taxes and your accountant raised a few questions and you wanted to get these clarified. If they get all angry, stay the course and just say these are your entitlements and they need to be paid.

 

[lost_for_words]

@breona I wrote a post a few months ago about my employer not paying me any super, I contacted the government body for superannuation ( I can't remember exactly, it might have been the ATO) and at first I thought nothing happened but then exactly at the legal point where they have to pay the super I was suddenly getting it all paid so I assume the ATO sent them a notice to pay my super before the said date and they waited until the last second to pay and now I have it all.

 

[divine2012]

@breona Sorry to hear about your dad, that’s terrible… hope you’re healing from it and doing better.

Super has to be paid at a minimum once every three months. It may not be paid at the same time as your salary, but if you were working since October you should have been paid super by the end of January at the latest.

Check your account to see if amounts owing from October-December were paid and email the employer to ask what’s happened if not. You can also contact the super fund and ask — sometimes the employer tries to contribute but it doesn’t show up in your account if they submit incorrect details. If this fails you can report the employer to the ATO as a last resort, they will track the money down for you.

 

[captainpicard]

@breona Start by sending emails and having that paper trail. Provide them with your super details in the email to confirm where they should be paying it. Let them know you’ve noticed none of your super has been paid on x amount of months so you’re just wanting to follow up on it.

 

[michaelf93]

@breona Send the employer and email then get on the phone to fair work and then the ato. It’s really unfair that the onus is placed on employees to chase their employers in superannuation. The ato should take them to task as they would if payg wasn’t being paid.

 

[resjudicata]

@michaelf93 No, don't phone Fair Work, always lodge an online enquiry. A paper trail is important plus you often get more considered advice if it has to be put in writing.

 

[undercover]

@breona many companies pay Super quarterly.

 

[casesensitive]

@undercover Companies need to realise that super “isn’t their money” and really it should be paid when their pay goes in. Your super fund should be earning you interest, and them holding it isn’t earning you anything.

I have seen the difference in earnings on the three month cycle compared to the every 2 weeks. It makes a very large difference.

 

[breona]

@undercover too late to be quarterly paid (as in they’re too late to pay it now), and still being underpaid

 

[tabernacle]

@breona Super isn’t due the same frequency at pay slips

Next just to raise the pay with them

Sorry to hear about your dad.