Victorians feel super pain as 135 a week discover they have been short-changed

MORE than 135 Victorians a week claim they are being ripped off by bosses avoiding millions of dollars in superannuation payments. Now, the popular Endota Spa brand is embroiled in the scandal.

MORE than 135 Victorians a week claim they are being short-changed at work by bosses avoiding payment of millions of dollars meant to help them survive in old age.

The Herald Sun can reveal new figures show complaints of missing superannuation have skyrocketed by 45 per cent nationwide in the past three years from more than 50,000 workers discovering they are missing their hard-earned money.

A $2.6 TRILLION PROBLEM NEEDS A SUPER SOLUTION

BIG QUESTIONS OVER A SUPER RIP-OFF

SUPERANNUATION RIP-OFF LAID BARE

The popular Endota Spa brand is embroiled in the scandal after one of the company’s franchises fell over.

Angry beauty therapists have claimed they believed their superannuation was paid after the then Surf Coast-based Endota owner provided them pay slips noting superannuation contributions.

The Herald Sun has seen documents showing the financial inconsistencies between what workers were told they were paid and what arrived in their superannuation accounts, with the issues dating back to 2010 at two Torquay day spas.

Emails to staff from the owner acknowledge the failure to pay, blaming “just human error on incorrect reporting” and promising to speak to an accountant to remedy the problem.

Beauty therapist Lindsay Wallace said victims felt let down by the owner, the company and the government complaints system.

“Super is our livelihood,” Ms Wallace said.

“Maybe I’ll be able to retire when I’m 83 if I’m lucky.

“I have only $12,000 in superannuation — how long do you think I could live off that?”

A 34-year-old single mum, Ms Wallace said she feared for her future and worried how she would support herself and her two children — one of whom has high needs.

Another victim said the experience “broke us”.

Another, owed nearly $10,000, said: “I’ll never see this money, there’s nothing that any of us can do, other than tell the truth.”

Dozens of women have been impacted at Torquay.

The Australian Taxation Office investigated the owner and Endota Spa head office kicked her out of the business, which remains under their control.

Liquidators took control of her company and she later declared bankruptcy.

Lindsay Wallace and Kate Simpson are among dozens of women who say they were ripped off when their employer short-changed them on their superannuation payments. Picture: Mark Wilson

Still, workers have not been fully compensated and they fear they will never be paid the balance or interest.

In a blow to the victims, the owner is now the face of another Surf Coast women’s “wellness” brand — this time with her husband listed as the company director.

“After running a medium-size business for seven years, I decided to kick that to the kerb and instead do something I love,” the website reads.

The failed businesswoman recently told a Parliamentary Inquiry, and was later quoted in Fairfax media, Endota’s lack of support for franchisees had sent her broke.

But claims about her treatment of workers have cast doubt on that sob story.

“We want justice — she should be held accountable, not running a business in the same town,” Ms Wallace said.

The rise in claims of super underpayment has prompted a government crackdown, with new laws before federal Parliament set to see delinquent bosses jailed.

Meanwhile, Treasurer Scott Morrison announced in the Budget plans to tackle “phoenixing”-- the practice of businesses avoiding paying up by shutting down or declaring bankruptcy, only to open a new business under another name.

Investigators in the government’s Taskforce Phoenix have probed 263 possible cases in the past year, collecting $115 million in cash and $240 million in liabilities.

But under existing laws only seven bosses have been successfully prosecuted.

Strengthening the rules could make it easier for investigators to take action.

Endota Spa head office said it was improving its systems to ensure its 1000 therapists were protected, and had ordered an audit of the franchises to ensure everyone was correctly paid.

“Non-payment of superannuation is unacceptable,” a spokeswoman said.

“Endota Spa does all we can to see their (workers’) rights are upheld and we do not tolerate any of our franchisees failing to abide by any law.”

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@AndieHamblin