$35,000 worth of underpayments exposed at Cotton On

For immediate release: 21 December 2016

$35,000 worth of underpayments exposed at Cotton On

The retail workers union is advising Cotton On staff to check their pay is correct after discovering over $35,000 worth of underpayments at the company’s distribution centre.

The underpayment scandal affects approximately 30 distribution centre staff after their annual leave was miscalculated. Other breaches to the collective agreement also occurred.

“We’re advising everyone at Cotton On to double check their pay,” said FIRST Union Transport and Logistics Secretary Jared Abbott.

“This isn’t the first time underpayments have happened. Last year the company was forced to pay out $80,000 after miscalculating leave entitlements.”

“We thought that would be the end of it, but this year we said over and over again to Cotton On that they were still miscalculating leave entitlements. On Friday the company finally acknowledged we were right,” said Abbott.

“This isn’t just a one-off mistake, it’s been an ongoing issue. It’s essentially wage theft.”

FIRST Union is still working to resolve other underpayment cases and will take a separate legal case over a breach of contract relating to pay structure.

“We’ve had Cotton On’s distribution centre audited, but it’s also possible this underpayment scandal applies to all employees of Cotton On in some way or another. We’re encouraging staff on the retail side to join a union and have a representative check your wage and time records for any inconsistencies or mistakes.”

Last year FIRST Union exposed Cotton On as the first major employer attempting to use the Government’s so-called “tea break law”.

ENDS

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