How To Tell If You Are Being Underpaid

George Calombaris underpaid his employees by $7.83 million. So, how do you know if you're being underpaid?

Before last week, you may have known George Calombaris as simply the MasterChef judge. But, if you have been following the news recently, you would now know him as the guy who grossly underpaid his employees.

The Age reported that the celebrity chef admitted to underpaying $7.83 million in wages to 515 current and former employees of his hospitality empire. In an unprecedented deal with the Fair Work Ombudsman, Calombaris has been ordered to make a $200,000 "contrition payment" and must give a series of public statements to promote compliance with the Fair Work Act.

The four-year investigation launched by the Fair Work Ombudsman found that the chef’s company, MADE Establishment, had failed to pay minimum award rates, penalty rates, casual loadings, overtime rates, split-shift allowances and annual leave loadings.

Calombaris insists that the underpayments were a mistake, and that all employees have been paid back. Mistake or not, it is still really poor form.

Ironically, Channel 10 announced yesterday that MasterChef judges Calombaris, Matt Preston and Gary Mehigan would not be returning for the next season of the show, after being unable to reach a commercial agreement that was suitable to them. The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the culinary trio walked after the network refused to up their pay by more than 40 per cent. (If only Calombaris' employees could afford to walk that easily...)

Of course, all of this begs the question: What can workers do to ensure they aren’t personally being underpaid?

Find out what you are meant to be paid.

See, there's this thing called the minimum wage, which is an employee’s base rate of pay for ordinary hours worked. Although base rates of pay differ across industries, you cannot be paid less than your applicable minimum wage. We explained more about hourly rates and salaries in our article on how to understand pay slips.

If you are concerned that you are being underpaid, hop onto the Fair Work Ombudsman’s website and use their free pay calculator.

You’ll have to enter your occupation, along with your industry. Additionally, you will need to select your "award" to find out what you should be getting paid. Awards outline minimum pay rates and conditions of employment. Don’t worry though; if you aren’t sure about your award, you can use the pay calculator to figure it out.

Once you have gone through the process, the calculator will give you a breakdown of what you should be paid hourly. 

It is also worth noting that employees are entitled to higher working rates called "penalty rates" when working overtime, on weekends or public holidays, and during late night or early morning shifts. After getting your pay rates summary, you can view your award to check what your penalty rates should be. 

Read up on myths and tips.

When you are a uni student struggling to get practical experience, taking on an unpaid internship might seem like a reasonable option. However, there are a bunch of myths that exist around lengthy unpaid work.

The Fair Work Ombudsmen states that unpaid work trials are only okay for as long as is needed to demonstrate the skills required for the job, or when part of an approved job training, work experience program or vocational placement.

Been asked to do some compulsory unpaid training? That’s also a big no-no. You are entitled to be paid for the time you are spent at any compulsory staff meeting or training.

Help! I think I’m being underpaid. What do I do?

If you have realised you are being underpaid, taking steps to fix it can be pretty daunting. But we believe in you!

According to Fair Work, it is important to try and resolve the issue with your employer yourself. If a dispute resolution process already exists in your workplace, make sure you follow it. Establish a time to talk to your employer in private and bring along any relevant paperwork. Hopefully, you and your employer will be able to resolve the issue, put an action plan in writing, and get you the moolah you’re entitled to.

However, if your boss refuses to play nice, it might be time to ask for help. You can submit an online enquiry to the Fair Work Ombudsman. They won’t require any paperwork initially but hang on to any payslips or evidence you might have in case they need them later.

It could also be worthwile to look into joining a union. A union is a body that represents the interests of workers in a particular industry or occupation, working with management to help resolve workplace issues, and ensuring employers are meeting their minimum obligations. 

Particular unions, such as the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union, offers people under the age of 18 discounted membership rates. Otherwise, you can check out the union database at Fair Work to find one that is suitable for you. 

Header Image: iStock.com/xavierarnau