Results of WA enterprise agreement campaign
31 October 2014
The Fair Work Ombudsman today released the findings of its recent proactive education and compliance campaign in Western Australia focused on enterprise agreements.
Fair Work inspectors visited 49 employers in Perth, Bunbury, Albany and the Pilbara in the retail, fast food and wine industries to assess the compliance of businesses with approved, registered agreements.
They found that 84 per cent were compliant with their record-keeping and pay-slip obligations and 78 per cent were paying the correct wages and entitlements to their employees.
The campaign recovered $43,100 for 574 employees who were found to have been underpaid.
Most of this was attributed to one company, Australian Fast Foods Pty Ltd, which had underpaid 457 of its employees a total of $35,202.
The company, which operates the Chicken Treat brand, subsequently entered into a Proactive Compliance Deed with the Fair Work Ombudsman (see Pay packet review for dozens of Chicken Treat employees throughout WA media release).
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says the majority of employers assessed during the campaign co-operatively engaged with the Agency and willingly discussed their obligations.
“We found nearly two-thirds of employers were compliant with all of their obligations and nearly four out of five were paying their staff correctly,” Ms James said.
“For those businesses with pay rate errors, we were able to provide advice about the correct interaction between their agreement and the Fair Work Act and employers responded promptly to our findings and took the appropriate action to rectify them.”
People seeking assistance can visit the Fair Work Ombudsman website at www.fairwork.gov.au.
Underpinning the website is the Fair Work Ombudsman’s small business helpline. Small business callers to 13 13 94 can choose to receive priority service.
Small businesses can sign up to a regular employer newsletter from the Fair Work Ombudsman with helpful workplace tips and information.
Follow Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James on Twitter @NatJamesFWO 
, the Fair Work Ombudsman @fairwork_gov_au or find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/fairwork.gov.au .
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Media inquiries:
Tom McPherson, Media Adviser
Mobile: 0439 835 855
tom.mcpherson@fwo.gov.au
