Southern Cross Care Tasmania signs ‘Enforceable Undertaking’ to repay staff nearly $7M and fix systems

Aged care provider Southern Cross Care Tasmania (SCCT), the largest Not For Profit aged care provider in the state, has signed an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) to repay 1,708 current and former employees a total of $6.9 million in unpaid wages, superannuation, and interest. The operator self-reported the breach to the Fair Work Ombudsman in August 2021 when it identified errors in its payroll systems related to a range of issues, including not paying staff overtime. The underpaid employees worked in Hobart, Launceston, Somerset, and Low Head in Tasmania between 2015 and 2022. They included aged care workers, nurses, community care workers, cleaners, laundry, and maintenance staff. The underpayments were as little as $1, up to more than $220,000. Six workers were underpaid more than $100,000. The average back payment will be just more than $4,000. The majority of repayments have already been made. The EU also requires SCCT to provide FWO with evidence it has implemented systems and processes to ensure the mistakes won’t happen again, has commissioned workplace relations training for human resources, payroll, and rostering staff, written to all underpaid staff to inform them of the EU, and displayed notices in the workplace outlining the errors. SCCT is not the only aged care provider to be embroiled in an aged care wage underpayment scandal. In 2020, aged care mutual society Australian Unity admitted to underpaying staff $4.25 million. In 2021, ASX-listed Regis Healthcare admitted to underpaying staff $30-40 million, and Not For Profit community care provider Wellways Australia admitted underpaying staff $1.5 million. In 2022, healthcare and insurance group Bupa admitted to underpaying staff, including aged care workers, $75 million, home care provider Silverchain admitted to underpaying staff $17 million, and WA regional aged care provider Capecare admitted to underpaying 400 current and former staff $75 million over six years. The SOURCE: Wage underpayment appears to be a systemic issue for the sector.