Latest news with #underpayment
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
DWP urges 200,000 parents to come forward after missing out on massive state pension top up
Hundreds of thousands of parents are missing out on a retirement top up worth £5,000 on average as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) admits it is struggling to reunite most with the money they are owed. An estimated 194,000 have been affected by the issue, which has seen their state pension being underpaid – or could in the future – due to a record-keeping issue which was no mistake of their own. The error relates to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), which was available between 1978 and 2010 for people in receipt of Child Benefit or with caring responsibilities. The scheme reduced the number of qualifying years a claimant needed for a basic state pension in retirement, meaning the amount of years spent in-work and paying national insurance. This was to account for their home-related responsibilities which made them less able to be in employment. A Government spokesperson said: 'We are determined to help people who have been left out of pocket as a result of historical errors which are no fault of their own.' (John Stillwell/PA) (PA Wire) Protection through HRP was meant to be applied automatically to those who claimed Child Benefit, with most claimants being mothers. However, the DWP says it noticed in 2021 that this had not happened in hundreds of thousands of cases, leading to underpayments worth £5,000 on average. But in its latest annual report, the department reduced the funds set aside for the repayments from £1.2bn to just £29.8 million – a deduction of over £1bn – conceding that it will not be able to rectify the issue in the near future. The report explains: 'Correcting HRP is inherently challenging. 'The number of people applying to correct their missing HRP has been low. Substantial numbers of people have not responded to government calls for them to apply to add missing HRP and the exercise has resulted in much lower activity levels.' Since autumn 2023, HMRC has issued over 370,000 letters to people who were potentially affected. However, during 2024/25, only 12,379 state pension underpayments were compensated, totalling around £104 million. In the year before this, it was just 419. In response to the low take-up, the DWP has decided to change the compensation scheme from a short-term repayment drive to an ongoing programme. This means those who are affected should face no time limit in claiming what they are owed, while the department saves considerable sums in the short-term. Anyone affected can retrospectively apply for HRP online or by post. For those who require more information, HMRC's national insurance helpline can be reached on 0300 200 3500. Hundreds of thousands of parents are missing out on a retirement top up worth £5,000 on average (Getty Images) Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb said: 'The DWP's latest report is a hammer blow to over 100,000 mothers who are receiving reduced state pensions because of errors on their National Insurance record. 'The Government's letter-writing campaign has been a dismal failure, and this was entirely predictable given its reliance on a complicated online claims process,' the LCP partner told The Telegraph. 'Although there will still be some ongoing publicity, the figures in the annual report are an admission that the Government itself does not expect these efforts to have much impact.' A government spokesperson said: 'We are determined to help people who have been left out of pocket as a result of historical errors which are no fault of their own. 'That's why we wrote directly to over 370,000 of those who were potentially affected and launched an online tool to help people check if they needed to claim. 'We carried out an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the issue and will continue regular communications to get people to check their National Insurance record.' Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
DWP urges 200,000 parents to come forward after missing out on massive state pension top up
Hundreds of thousands of parents are missing out on a retirement top up worth £5,000 on average as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) admits it is struggling to reunite most with the money they are owed. An estimated 194,000 have been affected by the issue, which has seen their state pension being underpaid – or could in the future – due to a record-keeping issue which was no mistake of their own. The error relates to Home Responsibilities Protection (HRP), which was available between 1978 and 2010 for people in receipt of Child Benefit or with caring responsibilities. The scheme reduced the number of qualifying years a claimant needed for a basic state pension in retirement, meaning the amount of years spent in-work and paying national insurance. This was to account for their home-related responsibilities which made them less able to be in employment. Protection through HRP was meant to applied automatically to those who claimed Child Benefit, with most claimants being mothers. However, the DWP says it noticed in 2021 that this had not happened in hundreds of thousands of cases, leading to underpayments worth £5,000 on average. But in its latest annual report, the department reduced the funds set aside for the repayments from £1.2bn to just £29.8 million – a deduction of over £1bn – conceding that it will not be able to rectify the issue in the near future. The report explains: 'Correcting HRP is inherently challenging. 'The number of people applying to correct their missing HRP has been low. Substantial numbers of people have not responded to government calls for them to apply to add missing HRP and the exercise has resulted in much lower activity levels.' Since autumn 2023, HMRC has issued over 370,000 letters to people who were potentially affected. However, during 2024/25, only 12,379 state pension underpayments were compensated, totalling around £104 million. In the year before this, it was just 419. In response to the low take-up, the DWP has decided to change the compensation scheme from a short-term repayment drive to an ongoing programme. This means those who are affected should face no time limit in claiming what they are owed, while the department saves considerable sums in the short-term. Anyone affected can retrospectively apply for HRP online or by post. For those who require more information, HMRC's national insurance helpline can be reached on 0300 200 3500. Former pensions minister Sir Steve Webb said: 'The DWP's latest report is a hammer blow to over 100,000 mothers who are receiving reduced state pensions because of errors on their National Insurance record. 'The Government's letter-writing campaign has been a dismal failure, and this was entirely predictable given its reliance on a complicated online claims process,' the LCP partner told The Telegraph. 'Although there will still be some ongoing publicity, the figures in the annual report are an admission that the Government itself does not expect these efforts to have much impact.' A government spokesperson said: 'We are determined to help people who have been left out of pocket as a result of historical errors which are no fault of their own. 'That's why we wrote directly to over 370,000 of those who were potentially affected and launched an online tool to help people check if they needed to claim. 'We carried out an extensive campaign to raise awareness of the issue and will continue regular communications to get people to check their National Insurance record.'
SBS Australia
5 days ago
- SBS Australia
Underpayment complaint from Filipino workers sparks investigation into Sydney restaurant
The total alleged underpayment is $97,621 with $57,927.95 owed to the food and beverage attendant and $39,693.48 to the sous chef. According to Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth, the investigation was launched after receiving complaints from the workers themselves. The FWO encouraged migrant workers not to fear speaking up and emphasised that legal protections exist to hold exploitative employers accountable. LISTEN TO THE REPORT SBS Filipino 16/07/2025 11:03 Filipino 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
ABC News
7 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
A third of young workers are exploited, with many never receiving entitlements
When Jarod Graham left school, he worked for a company which, he says, didn't pay him his superannuation for two years. The then-19-year-old says he is owed almost $10,000 from his old employer, People Come First Incorporated, a former NDIS provider in South Australia. He says it wasn't until he started working in a new job that he realised none of his super entitlements had been paid. A third of young workers are underpaid by employers, according to a new study by Melbourne Law School. The study found that 38 per cent had experienced underpayment, that they were aware of, and nearly 18 per cent had not been paid for all work completed. It also found 36 per cent had been forbidden to take entitled breaks, and 24 per cent had not been paid compulsory super. The study's lead Professor John Howe says exploitation among workers below 30 is "multifaceted". "There are so many different ways that young workers are being denied their rights and their entitlements," he says. Professor Howe says young workers are vulnerable because they are less likely to speak up. "They're worried about complaining about their job for fear of losing it. So they might not be aware of their rights, or young workers may be aware of their rights but don't want to say anything about them." When Mr Graham found out he hadn't been paid his superannuation, he contacted the ATO, who encouraged him to reach out to his former boss. But he says his former boss, Paul Tilbury, blocked him on social media, with the business no longer in operation. Tilbury has since been jailed for NDIS fraud, committed while he was CEO of the provider and had control of its bank accounts. Analysis from the Super Members Council shows that in 2022-23, 3.3 million Australians missed out on $5.7 billion in super entitlements That's up $600 million on the previous year. Mr Graham says he submitted a query through the ATO portal and was sent a letter in May 2023 confirming he is owed nearly $10,000 in unpaid super entitlements. He then says after calling multiple times and contacting his local MP, the ATO called him at the end of 2023. In a statement to the ABC, a spokesperson for the ATO says: "the ATO cannot comment on the tax affairs of any individual due to our statutory confidentiality obligations. "The ATO aims to collect unpaid superannuation guarantee charges owed by employers, however there are situations where it can be harder for the ATO to recover unpaid superannuation, including if an employer is bankrupt, in liquidation, under administration or deregistered." Yolanda Robson is the director of the Young Workers Centre in Victoria, an organisation that provides free legal support and advice for any workers in Victoria under 30. She says her organisation has worked with thousands of young workers across Victoria who have experienced exploitation. 'We are hearing it every day, we know what the issues are … young people always have that intuition to know that they're being taken advantage of, but they just don't have the tools or the safety net or the power to speak up.' She says in many cases, workers don't end up seeing their unpaid entitlements. "Within industries like retail, hospitality and the apprenticeship system, kind of feels like a bit of a whack-a-mole situation where they'll simply shut up shop and go into liquidation as soon as the rubber hits the road or we reach the pointy end and they're actually held accountable," she says. At the Young Workers Centre, Ms Robson says every young worker starts with an intake call. 'What we find when we are doing that intake is that it's not just that one issue, the toxic work culture spreads across several of those issues." Professor Howe says certain demographics are also at a higher risk of exploitation, including those within the LGBTQIA+ community and migrant workers. "If you feel vulnerable then you're less likely to raise your voice because you're worried that you're not going to have a job at the end of that process," he says. "They're the ones that need extra support because it's much harder for them to exercise their workplace rights, if they even know about them." Currently, most young workers don't report exploitation in the workplace, with only a third going to unions or agencies, such as the Fair Work Ombudsman, for help. Professor Howe says more support is needed for young workers. "The Ombudsman has a lot of different responsibilities and limited resources, so there's a challenge for the agency and how it distributes those resources to address the non-compliance we're seeing," he says. When the Young Workers Centre is supporting employees, Ms Robson says often compensation isn't given. 'It's really disappointing … it can really feel like [the system] is stacked against a victim of workplace issues. "If [someone at work] skimmed 50 bucks from the til, they are likely to face criminal prosecution, but on the flip side, we just don't see the same repercussions when an employer is fully and knowingly taking advantage of the people they employ.' For Jarod Graham, it's been about five years since he learned he hadn't been paid his super, and he doesn't believe he will see the thousands of dollars he says he is owed. "[It] is really disappointing considering that it should have been given to me so early on in my career and had such a long time to compound," he says. "I lost trust in the ATO, I lost trust in the government, I lost trust in super funds." He encourages others to know their obligations and entitlements when it comes to their own workers rights, and to speak up. "I wish someone had told that to me when I was younger because then perhaps I wouldn't be in such a bad situation."
ABC News
06-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Underpaid regional supermarket workers to receive $5.5m after court settlement
More than 500 current and former supermarket workers across regional South Australia will receive $5.5 million in back pay, after securing what their union describes as "one of the biggest retail underpayment settlements" in the state's history. Tahlia Troeth, who was underpaid by Eudunda Farmers Limited (EFL) while she was employed for five years at its Kingston South East Foodland store, said the settlement was a "huge validation" for workers. "It's just so disappointing that they (EFL) thought it was OK to treat the community that they employ like this," she said. "[It was a] huge validation when it came through that they finally agreed that yes, this wasn't OK." The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) said the settlement with EFL and its subsidiaries involved more than 500 current and former workers employed across 23 regional supermarkets. The majority of the supermarkets were part of the Foodland chain, but not all Foodland stores in South Australia have been accused of underpaying workers. According to the union, on average, each worker will receive almost $11,000 in back pay. One worker is set to receive more than $145,000. "It's one of the biggest retail underpayment settlements ever achieved in South Australian history," SDA South Australian secretary, Josh Peak, said. "Workers deserve to be paid properly to start with and we weren't prepared to settle for an amount that was less than what we thought workers were owed." The underpayment case was first brought to the Federal Court in 2021. At the time, 64 current and former EFL employees said they had been underpaid or misclassified, and were seeking $1 million in back pay. Mr Peak said the total owed to employees increased to about $5.5 million, as more workers joined the case. The union argued EFL misclassified workers, incorrectly paid overtime and allowances, and breached minimum shift rules over a six-year period. "The primary underpayment that we first uncovered related to misclassification, so workers being paid in many cases level one in the retail award when, in fact, they should have been paid level three, four or five," Mr Peak said. "For some workers, that represented up $5 an hour that they were being paid below the legal minimum. "It also went to the mis-payment [sic] of a range of allowances [such as] not being paid cold work allowances, not being paid the uniform allowance, or uniforms weren't being provided to them as they should be under the award." A joint statement issued by the SDA and EFL states that after the case was brought to court, EFL reviewed workers' classification levels and increased their pay to comply with award requirements. "Workers represented by the SDA will receive $5.5 million on top of previous back pay and ongoing pay increases to comply with the award, subject to individual workers' documents being finalised," the statement said. Ms Troeth, who over her five-year career at Foodland rose to the position of assistant manager at the Kingston SE store, said she was paid a level three wage, when she should have been paid a level five wage. "There was a big issue with misclassification of workers," she said. "We also had to pay for our own uniforms, which, when uniforms are compulsory, we're not supposed to pay for them." The former worker, who left Foodland in 2022, said the underpayment of workers was "disappointing" for the entire Kingston SE community. "Being from a really small country town [like] Kingston SE, the Foodland is such a huge part of the town," she said. "Most of my friends and my peers, we all worked there because it was the only place to get a job after school that you could do for a couple of hours and earn some pocket money. "Once I was made aware of the Fair Work website and how to check my rate through the SDA union, I was just shocked at how many things I wasn't being paid for." Mr Peak said the underpayment of workers impacted regional communities' broader economies. "Seeing that money going back into regional communities, back into workers' pockets is significant," he said. "We have to wonder, what family holidays were missed out on, what was sacrificed because workers weren't getting their legal minimum to start with?" In a statement, Foodland Supermarkets CEO Franklin Dos Santos said EFL "regrets any inconvenience caused". He said upskilling and supporting employees was a "priority" for EFL. "As such, various roles within the business are supported by different wage classifications and award entitlements," he said. "As with any business operation, mistakes and pay discrepancies can occur, as rightly identified in 2021 by the SDA." Mr Dos Santos said EFL was working with its employees and the SDA to ensure that "past payment discrepancies are rectified as a priority". "This process is now underway and will finalise within several weeks," he said. "EFL will continue to engage and inform employees throughout. "EFL continues to review and update all policies and procedures to ensure they are robust, consistent, and adhere to best practice standards."
