Thank you for the incredibly important work you do in supporting the children entrusted to our care to grow and blossom. We are committed to ensuring that our valued employees are paid appropriately and accurately for the work you do.
In a latter part of 2023, during a review of our payroll system, we became aware that overtime calculations for Long Day Care and Vacation Care employees for hours worked beyond eight hours of ordinary time, and some calculations for meetings or training outside of ordinary hours, were incorrect. This meant that some of our employees may have been underpaid for their overtime hours over a period of some time.
What have we been doing to fix this problem?
We have taken this issue extremely seriously and have self-reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman. We appointed an external expert, whose sole focus and responsibility has been to conduct a comprehensive investigation and recalculation of wages to enable us to rectify this issue.
Given the volume of data, this process has taken considerable time to ensure accuracy and thoroughness.
What happens next?
We are getting closer to commencing back payments to impacted employees. These initial back payments will cover the period from May 2021 to August 2023, and will be paid to both current and previous employees who have been impacted by the underpayment.
The review is ongoing to include periods prior to May 2021 and is likely to continue to take some months, as we conduct this process carefully and thoroughly. As a result, these back payments will be the first of several payment batches, and there will be further payments made to affected employees as the review continues.
Impacted individuals that have been identified to receive back payments will be contacted via email. However, if you feel that you may be entitled to a back payment and have not been contacted, please contact us by selecting “Employee wages enquiry” on the form on this page https://www.catholicearlyedcare.qld.edu.au/contact to get in touch with the dedicated assistance line.
What if I have questions?
We have established several channels for you in the event that you have questions.
Please reach out for support
We are committed to ensuring that our valued employees are correctly paid for the important work they do, and we will take all required steps to rectify this issue.
Please remember, the Employee Assistance Program can be contacted on 1800 81 87 28 for confidential counselling available to all staff at no cost.
We will continue to update you with our progress.
The employee wage underpayment was discovered following a system and process review conducted by incoming Director, Chris Lugg.
In broad terms, the Award says that after eight hours of work, an employee is entitled to overtime unless they have agreed to work up to ten hours. Catholic Early EdCare systems only calculated employees’ entitlement to overtime after ten hours of work. This is incorrect.
In addition, minimum shift lengths were not correctly applied in relation to meetings and training conducted outside of ordinary work hours, particular where it wasn’t a continuation of another shift.
The incorrect processes may have been in place since the Award commenced in 2010. Some employees may have been paid incorrectly for some hours of work since that time.
We are taking this issue extremely seriously and have self-reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
We have appointed an external expert, whose sole focus and responsibility has been to conduct a comprehensive investigation and wages review, to enable us to rectify this issue.
This process is likely to take some time – months, rather than weeks. As we conduct this process carefully and thoroughly, we will keep you updated on our progress.
Impacted individuals that have been identified to receive back payments will be contacted via email in due course. However, if you feel that you may be entitled to a back payment and have not been contacted, please contact us by selecting “Employee wages enquiry” on the form on this page https://www.catholicearlyedcare.qld.edu.au/contact to get in touch with the dedicated assistance line.
Impacted past employees will be contacted via Email in due course to confirm current personal details (banking, tax and superannuation details) to allow us to proceed with any eligible payments.
Get in touch with the Archdiocesan People and Culture team by selecting “Employee wages enquiry” on the form on this page https://www.catholicearlyedcare.qld.edu.au/contact.
We are committed to ensuring that our valued employees are correctly paid for the important work they do and we will take all required steps to rectify this issue.
Please remember, the Employee Assistance Program can be contacted on 1800 81 87 28 for confidential counselling available to all employees at no cost.