More disgruntled former OTR employees come forward over class action payouts

Thousands of ex-OTR workers have been gutted after a class action won them huge payouts - only to have it slashed because of a law firm’s “Excel error”.

More disgruntled former employees of service station giant OTR have come forward, telling of their “disgust” after their expected payouts from a successful class action were significantly cut after a miscalculation by the law firm that represented them.

Adero Law represented about 2000 former and current OTR Group workers in a class action against the company, securing a $5.8 million settlement in August last year.

Several members of the class action group thought they would receive a large settlement payout, but the law firm later retracted the total sum amount because of a miscalculation error.

Former OTR employee Pat Lucas, 52, from Port Lincoln, said she had worked at a local OTR store from 2016 to 2022.

She said she experienced issues while working a variety of roles and shifts, which led to her resignation.

One of her former managers later told about the class action, which she joined through Adero Law.

Former OTR employee, Jamie Thompson

Former OTR employee Pat Lucas.

“In that time, I would get a lot of afternoon shifts. I wasn’t paid for my break, and then I proceeded from casual to regular part-time,” Ms Lucas said.

After Adero Law won the settlement, she received a settlement statement email on May 23, saying that she was “entitled to received the total sum of $24,801.”

However, fewer than 24 hours later Ms Lucas received another email, stating that her entitled settlement “amount was (the) incorrect.”

“The error stemmed from the Model not properly factoring in a term of the Settlement Distribution Scheme as approved by the Court,” the email stated.

“I rang them on the Friday morning that we got this second statement, and they said they’d be out later than afternoon,” she said.

Ms Lucas received a third email on June 2, stating she would now receive a total sum amount of $1658.

Her daughter, Shannon Hurn, was also told she would be receiving a $15,000 settlement payout, which has now dropped to $2000.

“A few of us sent emails, trying to find out what was happening with the settlement, (but there was) no email response at all,” Ms Lucas said.

“From there they offered me my second settlement, which I thought it was absolutely BS,” she said. “I’ve sent several emails since then, and so did everybody else here at Port Lincoln, with no email response at all,” she said.

She claims seven other people in Port Lincoln, have also been affected by Adero Law’s settlement payout miscalculation.

Former OTR employee Shannon Hurn.

Another class action participant, Jamie Thompson, 52, worked at an OTR in King Street, Port Lincoln for around six months since 2017.

Ms Thompson said she signed up to the class action in hopes of receiving compensation for missed lunch breaks, working over time without pay.

In her initial statement Ms Thompson was told she would receive a total sum amount of $4720, but later received another email statement stating she was only eligible for a $315.17 settlement pay out.

“It’s disgusting because the amount dropped so dramatically,” she said. “To lose 90 per cent of your payout is a bit rough and shocking.

“That doesn’t cover an hour of overtime of no pay, or half an hour lunch break.”

Ms Thompson said she has not heard from the law firm, since their last email, and the whole ordeal has left her feeling disheartened.

“What’s the point of trying to fight for your rights sometimes,” she said.

The class action was lodged by Adero Law on behalf of current and former employees against OTR’s then owner Shahin Enterprises.

The class action accused the fuel and convenience store chain of several infringements including, employees performing unpaid work prior to and after rostered shifts, meal breaks were wrongfully deducted, and incorrect rates were paid to trainees.

The law firm said the payouts were excessively cut after a miscalculation “error” by the firm.

Speaking to the Advertiser earlier this week, a spokesman for Adero Law said a “computer glitch” had caused the error and the firm had worked quickly to notify people on the same day.

A spokesman for the firm said around 8 per cent of people within the class action group had received “grossly overstated” statements.

“The first statement was not what people were due at all, it was a result of an Excel function malfunctioning,” he said.

“People might be disappointed between the two settlements, but we always have and will continue to act in the best interest of our clients.”

Originally published as More disgruntled former OTR employees come forward over class action payouts