I am being underpaid
Underpayment – also known as wage theft – is when a boss doesn’t pay you what you’re owed. You can’t always rely on your boss to pay you properly, so it’s best to check. As union members, we work together to enforce our rights to fair pay.
Wage theft can occur in a variety of ways, including:
- Paying hourly rates below the modern award minimum rates, applicable enterprise agreement, or national minimum wage
- Misclassifying workers on a lesser pay rate
- Failing to pay overtime, penalty rates, allowances or other loadings
- Making unlawful cash deductions from wages
- Enforcing illegal cash-back schemes
- Not receiving superannuation, or the wrong amount of superannuation
- Not accruing leave entitlements like personal/carer’s leave or annual leave
- Receiving a flat rate for all hours worked that doesn’t properly compensate for entitlements that would otherwise apply
- Not being paid for attending training at the direction of your employer
- Working excessive hours on a salary
If you don’t understand your payslip, download our Payslip Checklist.
DID YOU KNOW?
What you can do about it
First, chat to trusted workmates. It’s likely they’re facing the same problems. Together, you and your co-workers can bring your concerns to your boss in a joint meeting or through a letter signed by all of you. Working together will make it more likely that your boss will act.
If you’re on your own, talk to your union delegate, if you have one, or contact us in your local state or territory.
What to Expect
We generally need to review relevant documents before we can give detailed advice. Contact our Member Rights Team via phone or email.
Gathering your documents before getting in touch will help us to support you. We will need:
- your name
- contact number
- a brief outline of the issue
- any deadlines
- the best time to reach you
- any digital documents you have gathered
By phone
Leave a message with the above details
By email
Please give above details and attach any relevant documents you already have.
Next steps
We will ask what you’ve already done to resolve the issue or prompt you to raise the issue with your employer as a first step. If you’re unsure how to do this, we can definitely help guide you through the process.