Chemist Warehouse investigated for underpaying 6000 employees. $3.6million is owed to staff for online training outside of rostered hours. Development does not surprise Workers’ union Professionals Australia. “Chemist Warehouse walks close to the [legal] line,” a spokesman said.
Chemist Warehouse, Australia’s cheapest pharmacy chain, is reportedly under investigation for underpaying almost 6000 employees by $3.6million.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is investigating how nearly 6000 employees, including pharmacists, are owed for time spent doing online training out of rostered hours totalling almost $3.6 million, The Age reports.
Workers’ union Professionals Australia represents salaried pharmacists and was not surprised that this was now the case.
“Chemist Warehouse always walks close to the [legal] line when it comes to workers entitlements,” says Chris Walton, the chief executive of Professionals Australia. However Damien Gance of Chemist Warehouse said that the firm had rectified the problem.
Mr Gance said that after a routine audit, it was found that staff had completed training outside work hours.
All the staff had been reimbursed once the mistake had been discovered. The Chemist Warehouse underpayment was limited to particular period and is not a systematic problem, Fairfax reports.
The underpayment to workers involved was initially discovered by the Fair Work Ombudsman and is not on the same scale as recent staff underpayment scandals such as 7-Eleven. Chemist Warehouse set up shop in Australia in 2002, opening 350 stores that now creates revenue of upwards of $3 billion – more than a 20 per cent share of the pharmacy market. “As the matter is currently operational, it is not appropriate to comment further at this time,” A Fair Work spokesman said.
Online Source: Daily Mail Australia.
