Following a recent reconciliation, the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute has identified that some casual employees have been underpaid for certain shifts at the Institute from 1 January 2014 to 10 October 2019.
The discrepancy occurred after the two awards that used to cover Institute employees terminated on 1 January 2014, and the Institute then failed to apply the terms and conditions of the applicable modern awards.
We are sorry for this error and apologise to all employees who are affected.
The Institute has engaged external advisers to undertake data analysis and calculate back payments for all casual employees. We have identified that 361 current and previous casual employees have been affected and will be back paying approximately $480,000, plus interest and superannuation.
The Institute has reported this matter to the Fair Work Ombudsman and the Australian Taxation Office, and we will co-operate with them as required in the rectification process.
We are updating employment conditions for all employees and have introduced new systems and processes to ensure all employees are paid correctly.