Fair Work Ombudsman
Citation: FWO-2022-09-28-seqwater-eu-media-release
At a glance
- Respondent
- Seqwater
- Penalty
- $7,000,000
What happened
Seqwater, the South East Queensland water supplier and a Queensland Government statutory authority, signed an Enforceable Undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman and is back-paying staff more than $7 million. The FWO started investigating in 2020 after underpayment allegations appeared in the media. Hundreds of Seqwater employees were underpaid entitlements under the organisation's enterprise agreements over many years. Many were underpaid because Seqwater incorrectly decided it did not have to provide them with EA entitlements, on the basis they were on individual contracts. Payroll system errors and process issues also caused underpayments. Most of the underpayments relate to overtime pay. Affected staff worked across Brisbane and South East Queensland.
What was decided
Seqwater entered an EU with the FWO and back-paid more than $7 million. The figure is remediation, not a civil penalty. Seqwater agreed to compliance measures under the EU.
What it means for employers
An individual contract does not override an enterprise agreement or Modern Award minimum. Employers, including government statutory authorities, cannot opt staff out of EA entitlements by signing them to a contract. Overtime is the most common gap where contract terms are wrongly treated as the ceiling.
What it means for employees
If you worked at Seqwater on an individual contract and you were told the enterprise agreement did not apply to you, it likely did. Staff in Brisbane and across South East Queensland are in scope. Contact Seqwater's remediation program or the FWO on 13 13 94 to check.
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https://www.fairwork.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/2022-media-releases/september-2022/20220928-seqwater-eu-media-releaseSend your details to Liquid Employment Lawyers
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This summary was drafted from the published decision and reviewed before publishing. It is general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, speak to the Fair Work Ombudsman (13 13 94) or a qualified lawyer. About these summaries & corrections