guides helped him understand how annual leave should accrue and what he was likely entitled to. Using Fair Work’s Leave Calculator, he ran the numbers. Then, he started combing through old payslips to make sure he was inputting the right hours. That’s when he saw that the hours worked didn’t match the pay received. After hours of researching, calculating, and starting over, Joshua began to realise this might not be an innocent mistake. As reluctant, and probably even scared, as he was, he pulled together everything: payslips, calculations, Fair Work guidelines, all neatly prepared and marked to show exactly where his pay and entitlements had been miscalculated. While organising his evidence, one thought kept nagging at him: Why must I go to these lengths to get my entitlements? Shouldn’t I be able to trust the organisation I work for to get it right? The meeting with his manager was polite but tense. It ended so quickly that Joshua wasn’t sure he’d explained himself properly. Still, he wanted to believe it was
an innocent mistake that would soon be fixed. It wasn’t. Days turned into weeks. Each time he asked for an update, the answer was the same: “We’re still reviewing it, it’s not as simple as you think.” After six weeks of waiting, Joshua knew he had to put his good nature aside. He contacted the Fair Work Ombudsman and submitted his evidence. The investigation confirmed what he’d suspected: his pay and leave had been miscalculated. The company was ordered to fix the errors, pay what he was owed (including superannuation and interest), and overhaul their payroll processes. The fine they received was just the icing on the cake. Joshua finally took his long- awaited trip to Cambodia. It was everything he’d hoped for, but bittersweet. He learned a valuable lesson: loyalty isn’t always repaid in kind, and sometimes the only way to protect yourself is to speak up. In the real world, fairness doesn’t just happen; you have to fight for it.
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ISSUE 15 GLOBAL PAYROLL MAGAZINE
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