PAYING EMPLOYEES TO ATTEND TRAINING AND MEETINGS OUTSIDE NORMAL HOURS OF WORK

There are times when employees engage in activities either during or outside working hours that are related to their work and issues can arise regarding whether the employees should be paid for those activities. Employers mistakenly believe that if the activities are either offsite or outside normal working hours then the employee need not be paid. These assumptions are incorrect under our current workplace laws and infringements are vigorously policed by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).

A recent FWO investigation found the fashion retailer, Cotton On, had breached workplace laws when it failed to pay staff attending training sessions and staff meetings outside normal working hours between February and December 2008. As a consequence, Cotton On had to back-pay a total of $278,000 to 3298 employees. In order to avoid prosecution by the FWO, Cotton On agreed to ensure future compliance with the Fair Work Act and entered into an Enforceable Undertaking with the FWO under which it agreed to:

  • post an apology to staff in all stores, on its website and on its Facebook wall.
  • send its HR managers on workplace relations compliance training.
  • provide a written report to the FWO annually for the next 3 years showing that staff are paid correctly; and
  • acknowledge there was sufficient evidence and public interest to justify the FWO prosecuting the company for this breach.

If Cotton On had been prosecuted by the FWO it could have been fined up to $33,000 for each of the possible 3298 offences – with each employee underpaid being a single offence.

KEY POINT: Employers must pay employees the correct rate of pay in accordance with any relevant award or enterprise agreement, for all hours they’re required to work, including attending meetings and training which they’re required to attend in/outside of ordinary working hours. Any activity performed by an employee at the employer's request, or where the employee is required to be on the premises, is likely to be regarded as working time and the employee is to be paid.