A THOMASTOWN manufacturing employee was awarded $21,200 in back pay after the Fair Work Ombudsman intervened recently.
Underpaid workers in Melbourne’s north and north-west were back-paid a total of $50,900 after interventions in the past six months.
The Thomastown employee was reimbursed after not being paid for several weeks of personal leave in 2012.
The employee was absent from work because of illness.
Sick leave is identified in the National Employment Standards, which state that full-time workers are entitled to 10 days sick pay a year.
Part-time sick leave is based on the number of hours worked.
Fair Work also recovered $5600 in underpaid wages during 2011 and 2012 for a Diamond Creek waiter.
In 2012, there were 900 complaints concerning workers who were allegedly underpaid in Melbourne’s north, from Carlton to Mernda.
Of those, 235 were subsequently paid.
The total amount of back pay recovered in 2012 in the northern suburbs was $760,212.
This is up from the 2011 calendar year, when 682 complaints were lodged, 210 were paid and Fair Work recovered $642,655 in back pay.
Fair Work Inspectors will contact businesses when employees inform them of pay discrepancies.
Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Michael Campbell said most employers fixed the problem as soon as they realised it.
He said Fair Work tried to give practical advice on resolving pay issues voluntarily.
To identify how much you should be paid, visit the Finding the Right Pay page on fairwork.gov.au or call 13 13 94.
