New report says wage theft remains a 'significant issue' in Australia
More than $1.76 billion was repaid to Australian employees in the past five years due to cases of wage theft, according to a new report
Reckon's Wage Theft Radar analysed data from the Fair Work Ombudsman from the past five financial years to discover the impact of wage theft across Australia.
It found that employers had repaid $1,758,190,840 to underpaid employees, while infringement penalties reached $2,794,764 in the past five years.
According to the report, there was a 282.2% increase in the total amount of money repaid to workers in the past years.
"Penalties paid for breaking the rules increased by 52.8%, from just over $477,000 to $729,000," it added.
The huge repayments and penalties come amid the prevalence of wage theft across Australia in the past five years, according to the report.
During the period, the FWO carried out 16,701 investigations for wage theft, with 9,401 businesses found non-compliant.
"Our research reveals that wage theft continues to be a significant issue across Australia," said Sam Allert, Reckon CEO, in a statement.
"The scope of this issue is highlighted by the $1.76 billion that was repaid to workers, emphasising the far-reaching consequences for businesses that fail to comply."
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