State Swim instructors underpaid for six years for pre-lesson briefings and pack up

An Adelaide dad thought his daughter’s employer “knew what they were doing” — now she’s owed “a couple grand”.

Swimming school State Swim has been underpaying its instructors Australia wide for the last six years, one parent saying some are owed “up to $5000 in back pay”.

State Swim, a national organisation, said it had “discovered an unintentional underpayment of swimming teachers for briefings prior to their teaching shifts”.

An Adelaide dad estimated his daughter, who worked at one of the SA schools for two-and-a-half-years, was owed “at least a couple of grand”.

State Swim swimming school has been “unintentionally” underpaying its staff for six years. Picture: Supplied

He said he was “not confident” all the workers — whose age “averages between 17 and 23” — would see their money.

The instructor — who did not want to be named — started working for State Swim in SA around 2022, when she was 17-years-old.

She was told instructors were required to start 15 minutes early for a “briefing”, and would have to pack up or adjust lane ropes in the pool — all while not being paid.

Instead, instructors were only able to “log in” three minutes before their lesson started, the instructor’s dad said.

“We thought, they’re the employer, they must know how things work,” he said.

“Because (my daughter) was a junior, she was on around $20 an hour, but I did some really rough calculations and if they had to pay every swimming instructor for every 15 minute meeting or pack up, some people could get up to $5000 in back pay.

“I don’t know how they’re going to work it out but (my daughter) is looking at least a couple of grand.”

An Adelaide dad estimated his daughter, who worked at one of the SA schools for two-and-a-half-years, was owed “at least a couple of grand”. Picture: Supplied

A State Swim spokesman said instructors would now be paid for the briefings and “all past and present employees who have attended unpaid briefings” would be paid with interest and super.

However, the “average amount owed to an individual is less than $500,” the spokesman said.

“We will continue trying to contact past employees, and will deposit their payment into the account we have on record if we do not hear from them,” they said.

“If this payment does not go through we will then try other means to contact them.”

A Fair Work Ombudsman spokesman “declined to comment on the business named”.

It is unknown how much is owed and how many instructors across the national State Swim brand were impacted.

State Swim has five schools in SA at Clovercrest, Golden Grove, Morphett Rd, Seaford, Unley and Glen Osmond.

Originally published as State Swim instructors underpaid for six years for pre-lesson briefings and pack up