Over 600 Sunglass Hut employees across Australia are set to be back-paid more than $2.3m after the chain admitted to underpaying staff. The Sunglass Hut underpayment admission revealed that between 2010 and 2016, part-time workers had no written agreement defining their regular hours and days, breaching the general retail award.
The lack of formal arrangement resulted in a systematic underpayment of pay rates for overtime and work performed outside regular hours. Individual Sunglass Hut underpayment instances ranged from $4 all the way up to $42,912, adding up to $2,294,496 in total.
Luxottica Retail Australia Pty Ltd, trading as Sunglass Hut has now entered into a court-enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).
Following the Sunglass Hut underpayment self-admission, however, the chain has already worked to back-pay more than $1.4m to 457 staff.
Sunglass Hut underpayment response
As a result of the proactive approach, the FWO has decided not to seek penalties against the brand, with Sunglass Hut making a contrition gesture of $50,000 to the National Association of Community Legal Centres.
Sandra Parker, Fair Work Ombudsman said the company’s commitment to overhaul workplace practices and rectify underpayments was commendable, but highlighted the need to stay compliant.
“Sunglass Hut breached workplace laws and their conduct falls short of lawful obligations to their employees, and community expectations,” Parker said.
“This matter highlights that if employers incorrectly apply award conditions, it can have extensive and expensive consequences across the business for years to come. This outcome should also serve as a warning to all businesses that they need to actively check that they are paying their staff correctly.”
In light of the Sunglass Hut underpayment admission, the brand must fund external auditors to check pay and conditions for workers every year until the undertaking expires in 2022.
Luxottica Retail Australia Pty Ltd must also issue a letter of apology to each of the affected workers.