The start of the new financial year brought with it a new set of laws regarding the underpayment of employees in Victoria
On 1 July, it became a crime for an employer in Victoria to:
· Deliberately underpay employees
· Dishonestly withhold wages, superannuation or other employee entitlements
· Falsify employee entitlement records to gain a financial advantage
· Avoid keeping employee entitlement records to gain a financial advantage
These crimes are punishable by a fine of up to $218,088 or 10years jail time for individuals, and a fine of up to $1,090,440 for companies.
Wage theft offences involve deliberate and dishonest conduct. Honest mistakes made by employers who exercise due diligence in paying wages and entitlements are not considered wage theft.
When paying your employees, it’s important to have a system that will advise you on what the correct award is for each employee. Guardhouse not only contains the correct award rates, but will accurately calculate each employee's entitled pay according to the award rate and the hours they have worked, ensuring that you remain compliant to the new laws imposed by the Victorian government.
Make sure you check out the new laws in more detail here
