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Paul Sadler Swimland to be supervised by wage regulator after underpaying 1300 staff

Paul Sadler Swimland to be supervised by wage regulator after underpaying 1300 staff
April 16, 2018

Paul Sadler Swimland, one of Australia's largest learn-to-swim groups, has agreed to be supervised by the Fair Work Ombudsman for the next two years having admitting to the underpayment of 1,300, mainly junior, staff.

The popular swim school franchise, which has a network of 12 swimming schools in Victoria that hosts more than 30,000 swimming lesson a week, has agreed to be supervised by the wage regulator for the next two years.

After admitting to the underpayments Franchisor Paul Sadler Swimland Pty Ltd and 12 franchisees entered to an Enforceable Undertaking (EU) with the Fair Work Ombudsman following the disclosure of widespread underpayments throughout its network, with 1308 workers underpaid a combined $1,425,477 between July 2010 and March 2016.

As announced today by the Fair Work Ombudsman, the EU imposes significant obligations on the franchisor and franchisees, including requiring third party audits of the swim schools across Melbourne and Bendigo during the next two years to ensure ongoing compliance.

Following staff concerns about underpayments at the Essendon franchise in 2015, by early 2016 issues with pay arrangements had been identified across the network, prompting a full review.

The underpayments related to breaches of both the Fitness Industry Award 2010 and individual enterprise agreements signed by each of the 12 franchisees in 2013.

The underpayments arose from failing to correctly progress employees according to their experience, implement junior workers’ age increments; and apply the Award’s transitional wage provisions. Most workers were swim instructors or administrative staff, with a large proportion being young workers.

Total underpayments at each franchise ranged from $40,107 at the Braybrook business to $445,580 at Essendon. Individual underpayments for workers ranged from three cents to $14,891.

The franchiser has also admitted that it was an accessory to the contraventions of wage laws even though it was not the direct employer of staff.

In December 2016, Fairfax Media revealed that over a thousand teenage and young adult employees had been underpaid after because the company did not increase their wages as their age went up. Other staff were not properly graded to reflect their experience as per the award.

The company will also make two $25,000 donations to charities The Smith Family and Western Chances.

Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Kristen Hannah said the group had fully cooperated with the regulator and had been conducting repayments before Fair Work Ombudsman’s involvement.

However, Hannah warned that while the underpayments were not found to be deliberate, the situation should serve as a warning to all franchise operators, advising “this has been a significant, expensive wake-up call for Swimland and serves as a clear reminder to those in franchise networks that all are responsible for ensuring workers entitlements’ are met.

“Breaching the terms of an EU is grounds for litigation and the community can be assured that we will be monitoring Swimland closely to ensure it complies with the terms of the undertakings.”

Paul Sadler Swimland Chief Operating Officer Mark Cecil said in a statement that the company acknowledged the mistake and apologised to all staff impacted, advising “we respect and value our people and are sorry for the impact this has had on them.”

Images courtesy of Paul Salder Swimland.

18th January 2018 - FITNESS AUSTRALIA’S BILL MOORE FLAGS INDUSTRY CHALLENGES FOR 2018

3rd January 2018 - FAIR WORK COMMISSION CONSIDERS FITNESS INDUSTRY AWARD PENALTY RATE RISES 

4th October 2017 - WEEKEND PENALTY RATES DEAL SECURED FOR YMCA VICTORIA SWIM TEACHERS

16th June 2017 - YMCA VICTORIA MOVES TO CORRECT UNDERPAYMENT OF AQUATIC FACILITY STAFF

26th April 2017 - ASSA LOOKS TO GLOBALISE THE SWIM SCHOOL INDUSTRY 

3rd February 2017 - FAIR WORK COMMISSION CUTS SUNDAY AND PUBLIC HOLIDAY PENALTY RATES

29th December 2016 - PAUL SADLER SWIMLAND FORCED TO TAKE ACTION ON STAFF UNDERPAYMENTS

11th December 2016 - UNION LAUNCHED FOR SWIMMING TEACHERS AND LIFEGUARDS

8th August 2016 - FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN STEPS IN TO STOP CANBERRA GYM UNDERPAYING PERSONAL TRAINER 

22nd December 2015 - PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION CALLS FOR WEEKEND PAY CHANGES IN ENTERTAINMENT, HOSPITALITY AND RETAIL

26th November 2012 - FAIR WORK AUSTRALIA MAKES CHANGES TO FITNESS INDUSTRY AWARD


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