The ombudsman found seven hospitality workers at a club in town had not received penalty rates they were entitled to as part of the Registered and Licensed Clubs Award over a 13-month period.

The club paid the employees the correct minimum hourly rates and weekend penalty rates but was not aware the employees were also entitled to penalty rates for evening, night and overtime work.

One worker was back-paid $4650.

A total of $10,700 was recovered for the seven underpaid employees.

In a separate case, the ombudsman also recovered almost $10,000 for 35 manufacturing workers at a business in Moree. 

The employees were underpaid weekend and overtime rates and an industry allowance during the 2015-16 financial year.

The business promptly rectified the underpayments and agreed to ensure that all minimum entitlements would be paid in the future.

Ombudsman Natalie James said most underpayments were inadvertent and were the result of employers failing to check their obligations.

Ms James said employers should undertake their own checks of award provisions to ensure they meet all employees’ minimum lawful entitlements.

“When we find inadvertent errors, our preference is to educate employers about their obligations and assist them to put processes in place to ensure the mistakes are not repeated”, she said.