RSPCA Qld’s 1130 staff will be paid $2.8m after the charity underpaid them for six years

Animal charity RSPCA Queensland is paying back $2.8m to more than 1100 former and current staff after discovering they had been underpaid for six years.

More than 1100 former and current RSPCA Qld staff will be getting $2.8m after the charity found that it had inadvertently under paid employees for six years.

Animal care and protection services charity RSPCA Queensland will return $2.8m to staff over the next few days after inadvertently underpaying employees over a six-year period.

About 1130 former and current employees impacted between February 2017 and June 2023 will receive an average of just under $2500.

The RSPCA Qld discovered the underpayment during a review process that identified shortcomings in payroll processes established back prior to 2017 which required further investigation.

PricewaterhouseCoopers was engaged to assist in completing a proactive governance review of the payroll processes, systems and outcomes and the anomaly was reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO).

In a statement RSPCA Qld said the issues was caused through a combination of a complicated wage award systems and an older payroll system that didn’t have the functionality to keep up with requirements.

“We are now in the process of making payments to current and former employees who may have been underpaid during this period,” the charity said.

“We sincerely apologise to those team members affected and we would like to thank them for their understanding as we finalise the resolution of this matter.

“While the payment errors were not intentional, we appreciate the importance of correcting past mistakes and ensuring they do not happen again.”

The RSPCA Qld found it had under paid staff after a review of its systems and processes.

RSPCA Qld’s under payment follows a number of not-for-profit organisations which have been caught.

This year World Vision Australia paid back staff more than $6m, including interest and superannuation, after it signed an enforceable undertaking for self-reported underpayments with the FWO. Disability support charity Open Minds Australia Limited has back-paid staff about $4.2m after breaching its own collective agreement and having to enter an Enforceable Undertaking with the FWO.

RSPCA Qld said changes and controls implemented in the payroll system are already proving effective in ensuring the interpretation of relevant industrial instruments and systems setup are appropriate.

“Further to this RSPCA Queensland has implemented a new Human Resources Information System, which has replaced the historical payroll systems and ensure significantly increased systems controls are in place to prevent the errors of the past reoccurring in the future,” the charity said.

“Finally, to provide a further layer of governance and comfort for our employees RSPCA Queensland will also conduct a further independent review in 12 months time.”