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birthdays. The cancelled holidays. All of it for a salary that turned out to be a legal fiction. The frustration followed him home. He became irritable and distracted, and his partner noticed. One night, while staring at the spreadsheet for their tiny house plan, he finally told them that the company had been underpaying him and his colleagues for years. He explained the ruling, the averaging, the illegality of it all. His anger was real. It was not about the money, at least not yet. It was the principle. The unspoken agreement that loyalty meant something had been broken. He suddenly felt naïve for trusting any company to do the right thing without a lawyer checking every line. The following week, the official remediation statement arrived. Liam sat at the kitchen table, too anxious to open it. When he finally did and saw the six-digit figure
His anger was real. It was not about the money, at least not yet. It was the principle. The unspoken agreement that loyalty meant something had been broken.
covering six years of underpayment, interest and superannuation adjustments, tears of exhaustion slid down his face. Relief washed over him, but it felt hollow. The money was life- changing. It meant the tiny home could become an actual house. It meant security. It meant a safety net. But it did not feel like a reward for his work. It felt like compensation for being exploited, whether intentionally or not. Even though the money His perspective on the corporate world shifted. He realised loyalty only mattered when the law forced it to. At least that is how it now felt to him. Liam did not leave softened the sting, the scar remained.
his company, but his relationship with it changed. He became more observant. He documented everything, using the Fair Work Ombudsman’s record- keeping tools. He became an unofficial expert on the award, quietly checking his team’s hours and making sure nothing slipped through again. The court ruling had not only corrected a loophole. It opened Liam’s eyes to the reality that in a world of annualised salaries, vigilance was not optional. It was essential. His dream of moving up in the company was still there, but now it came with a sharper edge. One eye on the fine print and the other on his own back.
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GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE ISSUE 18
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