Youfoodz employees claim super rip-off has shrunk retirement pot

Brisbane meal delivery company Youfoodz has been accused of failing to pay superannuation to some of its staff, with a group of them claiming they are collectively owed close to $50,000.

Brisbane meal delivery company Youfoodz has been accused of failing to pay superannuation to some of its staff.

The Courier Mail has spoken to half-a-dozen former employees who claim they raised the issue of non-payment with the company and its payroll office but payments did not resume.

Super payments have been intermittent since last year, they said.

“I was told it is with the Australian Taxation Office, there’s nothing we can do, if you have any questions talk to them”, a staffer, who wishes to remain anonymous, said.

The staffers, some of whom have now left the company, claim they had been getting small payments, just a portion of what they are owed, from the Australian Taxation Office, but this stopped about three months ago.

Together the group are owed nearly $50,000 and they say the issue is widespread amongs staff.

“They are just not paying. I have told them: ‘I want my money’,” the worker said.

“It wasn’t a one-off thing. Our pay slips stated we were being paid our super,” the worker said.

YouFoodz is being accused by a group of staff of not paying their superannuation.

Another worker said there were rumours among staff that the company had $3 million worth of unpaid superannuation.

“Superannuation payments are a legal entitlement”, the worker said.

The ATO wrote to staff earlier this year telling them that IDK Pty Ltd, trading as Youfoodz had paid the ATO a tax contribution, which the ATO had passed on.

The ATO also wrote to staff last year saying they would depositing sums into workers accounts.

Employers are obliged to pay super guarantee contributions at a rate of 9.5 per cent of their employees’ ordinary time earnings into superannuation funds at least every three months.

If they don’t, the ATO collects the unpaid super through a superannuation guarantee charge.

They identify unpaid super by workers calling in, employers self-reporting and audits.

Youfoodz produces 65,000 meals a day for its customers nationwide, and has staff working three shifts a day around the clock from its factory in Virginia in Brisbane’s north.

It competes with rivals including Lite and Easy, Hello Fresh and Marley Spoon.

Youfoodz is a private company which has been in the spotlight recently because of its bitter legal stoush with a former chicken supplier which twice sought to wind up the company over allegations of unpaid bills.

Youfoodz won the battle with Cordina Chicken.

The company has also been rumoured to have been laying off up to 30 staff in the past week including redundancies in marketing, creative and technology sections.

A company linked to former bankrupt childcare tycoon Eddy Groves is also suing Youfoodz claiming it owns a slice of the fast-growing food delivery business.

CEO Lance Giles said: “Youfoodz considers its staff an essential part of its business. We can confirm that all superannuation assessments have correctly been lodged with the ATO and are being paid regularly.”

Youfoodz is defending the share claim.