The Fair Work Ombudsman finds 13 out of 22 aged care providers non-compliant

More than $5.3 million for almost 3600 underpaid direct care employees — including personal care workers, enrolled and registered nurses, and assistants in nursing — working for aged care businesses has been recovered following Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) investigations.

Of the 22 aged care businesses providing residential aged care and home care that the FWO investigated, 13 were found to be non-compliant with workplace laws in one or more areas, eight were compliant and one business remains under investigation.

Employees had been underpaid by all 13 non-compliant aged care providers, with six residential aged care providers back-paying more than $2.17 million to 2338 employees and seven home care providers back-paying more than $3.13 million to 1253 employees.

A number of aged care providers that are headquartered in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia were investigated, with investigations covering both metropolitan and regional areas and many of the investigated employers operating in multiple states.

The back-payments to workers came after the FWO issued a total of 16 Compliance Notices to the 13 employers. A combined $4620 in fines was also paid by two residential care providers for record-keeping and payslip breaches.

Underpayment of minimum rates of pay, underpayment or non-payment of broken shift entitlements, non-payment for minimum engagement periods, and underpayment of overtime were the most common contraventions, FWO said, with the average overall underpayment per employee was $1478.

Other contraventions involved breaching record-keeping and payslip requirements and not providing a Fair Work Information Statement to all employees. One provider also advertised below-minimum rates of pay.

“Aged care providers need to make sure their payroll systems are fit-for-purpose and payroll staff are properly trained to make sure employees are paid for every dollar they’re entitled to,” Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said.

“The FWO calls upon aged care providers to invest in strengthening their payroll and rostering systems and to undertake their own, regular wage compliance audits — or potentially face big back-pay bills.”

Booth acknowledged that the investigated employers had been cooperative and proactive.

Employers were selected for inspection based on factors including any history of non-compliance with the Fair Work Act, anonymous reports from staff members received by the FWO, and/or their employment of visa holders, among other intelligence, the FWO said, noting that migrant workers are a significant component of the aged care workforce.

Specific information is available here to help understand the Aged Care Award, FWO advised.

FWO also advised:

Issues can also be reported online anonymously to the FWO, including in languages other than English. Employees can also seek information from their union, if they are a member, or from their employer.

The FWO also has resources for migrants and visa holder workers who have the same workplace rights as all other employees, with protections for their visa if they call out for help. These are available here.

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