As foreshadowed in our Client Bulletin in August 2016 (
http://www.codea.com.au/publication/7-elevan-scandal-lessons-employers-individual-managers/),
the Fair Work Ombudsman's (FWO) inquiry and report into the
7-Eleven underpayment scandal has resulted in a Bill to
significantly amend the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), which
was presented by the Coalition Government to the House of
Representatives on 1 March 2017.
This is one of those rare legislative initiatives in workplace
relations law that has attracted widespread support amongst the
stakeholders in this area.
This rather uncommon consensus has, without doubt, been enhanced
by revelations in recent times that, quite apart from the 7-Eleven
organisation, a number of other large retail and food service
companies, including Caltex, Yogurberry, Coles and Dominos, have
also been involved or complicit in systematic underpayment of some
of their most vulnerable workers. And that is not an exhaustive
list.
