To determine the hours actually worked, we requested records from 7-Eleven, including reports from the payroll system, register log ins and records showing when an employee had checked the fuel levels in the tanks. The register log in store’s petrol reports showed that employees use individual log in codes so they be didn’t couldn’t used as evidence. To gather sufficient evidence of the hours Hussan worked, an inspector cross-checked the hours shown in photographs, his handwritten Hussan’s records, the the timesheets, the payroll reports and the employer’s rosters, employer’s fuel dip reports. record largely correlated with the fuel dip records Hussan’s timebook provided by 7-Eleven. Importantly, the fuel dip records showed Hussan signing the record when the recorded he was not at work This detailed cross employer’s timebook referencing allowed the inspector to determine the most accurate evidence of hours worked. 4.7 Rectification of underpayments To date we have been able to obtain approximately $293 500 in underpayments across 7-Eleven stores investigated as part of this Inquiry. A number of barriers have prevented us from achieving full rectification of amounts determined to be outstanding. The transient nature of the workforce means we been able to locate some haven’t employees to advise them of an underpayment or to transfer funds. In some cases, been it’s reported employees have returned funds to the employer shortly following of ‘rectification’ underpayments. In these instances we have faced challenges in validating what has actually been paid to the worker. Case study: repayment of funds Our investigation into Store A identified underpayments of over $80 000 for a 12 month period. The inspector issued a contravention letter requiring these amounts to be rectified. The employer provided evidence of rectification in the form of bank documents showing bank transfers to employees. Follow-up contact between the inspector and some of the employees raised concerns that these amounts may not have been paid.
To determine the hours actually worked, we requested records from 7-Eleven, including reports from the payroll system, register log ins and records showing when an employee had checked the fuel levels in the store’s petrol tanks. The register log in reports showed that employees didn’t use individual log in codes so they couldn’t be used as evidence. To gather sufficient evidence of the hours Hussan worked, an inspector cross-checked the hours shown in Hussan’s photographs, his handwritten records, the employer’s rosters, the employer’s timesheets, the payroll reports and the fuel dip reports. Hussan’s timebook record largely correlated with the fuel dip records provided by 7-Eleven. Importantly, the fuel dip records showed Hussan signing the record when the employer’s timebook recorded he was not at work This detailed cross referencing allowed the inspector to determine the most accurate evidence of hours worked. 4.7 Rectification of underpayments To date we have been able to obtain approximately $293 500 in underpayments across 7-Eleven stores investigated as part of this Inquiry. A number of barriers have prevented us from achieving full rectification of amounts determined to be outstanding. The transient nature of the workforce means we haven’t been able to locate some employees to advise them of an underpayment or to transfer funds. In some cases, it’s been reported employees have returned funds to the employer shortly following ‘rectification’ of underpayments. In these instances we have faced challenges in validating what has actually been paid to the worker. Case study: repayment of funds Our investigation into Store A identified underpayments of over $80 000 for a 12 month period. The inspector issued a contravention letter requiring these amounts to be rectified. The employer provided evidence of rectification in the form of bank documents showing bank transfers to employees. Follow-up contact between the inspector and some of the employees raised concerns that these amounts may not have been paid.
fair_work_ombudsman_report_into_7-eleven.docx