A short while ago I was happy to be able to assist a young member who had recently started working in fast food.
A few weeks after starting work, she noticed she had not been getting paid correctly for all her shifts.

She soon realised that the fingerprint scanner did not always work correctly and reported it to management. She believed that manual adjustments were being made to her shifts when the fingerprint scanner wasn’t working – but they weren’t, resulting in her being underpaid for several shifts.

She contacted management to correct the underpayments and explain the situation but it was not getting resolved in a timely manner. Luckily, she was a member of the SDA and I was able to assist her by raising the matter to HR for an audit of her shifts worked and shifts paid.

The audit uncovered that she was owed approximately $930 in unpaid wages that had accumulated over six weeks. This was quickly actioned as a back payment.

The SDA also ensured that an alternative way for all staff to clock on/off was put in place as the fingerprint scanner was not reliable and we do not want the issue to reoccur.

If you’re not sure if you’re being paid correctly, or have a question about your pay slip – it’s important to speak up. Underpayments can occur easily, and even small errors can add up over time.

If you have questions or need help pursuing a potential underpayment, contact the SDA for professional advice.