Eagers Automotive back pays $16m to current, former staff
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The news: Car dealer group Eagers Automotive has signed an enforceable undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) after back-paying more than $16 million to staff underpaid by five of its subsidiaries.
The numbers: The group back-paid $16.2 million to 13,277 current and former employees of those entities. This includes about $12.1 million in wages, $1.1 million in superannuation, and $3 million in interest. The underpayments occurred between 2013 and 2021.
Rectifications outside of the requirements of the EU include an additional $1.9 million, including interest and superannuation, back-paid to 701 current and former employees of 14 other subsidiary companies. About $200,000 is still owed to employees who cannot be found. Under the EU, payments must be completed within 120 days or be paid into FWO’s unclaimed monies fund.
The context: The underpayments relate to 19 subsidiaries of Automotive Holdings Group, which was acquired by Eagers in 2019 to become the country’s biggest car dealer group.
Eagers self-reported the underpayments to the regulator in June 2021 after a review of the companies’ payroll revealed anomalies. The self-report revealed EAL subsidiaries unlawfully failed to pay in line with award progression; incorrectly classified employees; did not pay overtime, annual leave and annual leave loading; did not pay for training; and failed to pay, as required, when employees were sent home due to no work. They also made unauthorised deductions.
What they said: “Under the enforceable undertaking, the subsidiaries of Eagers Automotive Limited have committed to implementing stringent measures to ensure all their workers are paid correctly,” Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said.
The source: Fair Work Ombudsman
