Hamilton Island resort operators ordered to hand over $28m back-pay to staff by Fair Work Ombudsman

The companies which operate Hamilton Island have back-paid staff more than $28m after they were underpaid for eight years.

The companies responsible for operating one of Queensland’s top resorts, Hamilton Island, have back-paid staff more than $28m and signed an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman began to investigate the wages and entitlements of salaried staff in 2020 after requests for help.

To date, the companies have back-paid a total of $28.1 million, including over $6 million in interest and about $500,000 in superannuation.

The pay went to 2152 current and former staff, working in a range of businesses on the island, who were allegedly underpaid between December, 2014 and December, 2022.

A further $250,984 and $10,954 in superannuation is still to be paid for unclaimed sums for 32 employees who have not yet been tracked down.

The Sundays, a $30m luxury hotel and restaurant on Hamilton Island. Picture: Hamilton Island Enterprises

They included food and beverage supervisors, assistant restaurant managers, chefs, front office employees, clerical employees, housekeeping employees, handymen and concierges.

Amounts back-paid ranged from less than $5 up to $119,446 in one case, with an average of about $8000.

The Ombudsman claimed most of the underpayments were the result of the Hamilton Island Enterprises Limited (HIE) paying many full-time employees annual salaries that were insufficient to cover their minimum award entitlements.

That was because many often performed overtime, shiftwork and work attracting penalty rates, it said.

The most common entitlements underpaid included overtime rates, weekend and public holiday penalty rates, broken-shift allowances and annual leave loading, it said.

Most of the staff worked on the island but some were employed at corporate headquarters in Sydney.

Ombudsman Anna Booth said the companies had co-operated with the investigation and showed a “strong commitment to rectifying its noncompliance issues and ensuring future compliance’’.

“Under the enforceable undertaking, the companies have committed to rectifying all underpayments they identify in full, plus interest and superannuation, and implementing stringent measures to ensure all staff are paid correctly in future,” Ms Booth said.

“Businesses paying annual salaries cannot take a ‘set-and-forget’ approach to paying their workers.

“Employers must ensure wages being paid are sufficient to cover all minimum lawful entitlements for the hours their employees are actually working.’’

Ms Booth said underpayments resulting from insufficient annual salaries for employees

covered by awards had become a persistent issue among businesses of all sizes across many industries.

Most of the workers were covered by the Hospitality Industry (General) Awards 2010 and 2020, with others covered by more than 20 different awards.

The enforceable undertaking required the companies to fix staff underpayments by June 30.

They must also make a combined $750,000 “contrition’’ payment, with $500,000 to

be paid to the Commonwealth and $250,000 to a not-for-profit agency.

And they must commission an independent audit, to be reported to their board and to the Fair Work Ombudsman, as well as opening a hotline for employee queries.

HIE operates a range of accommodation businesses on Hamilton Island, as well as the marina, airport, retail stores, restaurants and leisure and recreation facilities.

It is also responsible for public utility services on the Island and some emergency services.

A subsidiary provides support services for finance, bookings, sales and marketing.

Workers who believed they might have been underpaid could use the search function on the Ombudsman’s website to check if amounts were owing to them.

Originally published as Hamilton Island resort operators ordered to hand over $28m back-pay to staff by Fair Work Ombudsman