ABC offering financial advice, repayments to underpaid staff

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has told hundreds of employees they may have been underpaid more than expected due to a miscalculation of annual leave taken on public holidays over a six-year period.

Emails sent to some staff members late on Friday afternoon, obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, indicate that underpaid staff may be owed more money than expected, or that the scope of underpaid staff may be larger than originally thought.

The ABC is separately providing underpaid journalists who are owed more than $15,000 with additional money to engage external financial advisers about the matter, and is offering to write letters to banks on behalf of employees to help secure loans for about 100 staff who are expected to receive a guaranteed pay cut of up to 20 per cent due to faulty a buyout of some allowances.

ABC staff have previously expressed frustration with a decision by management to stop paying ‘buyouts’ to 100 employees.Credit: Steven Siewert

The measures, according to ABC sources who spoke anonymously, come after fresh revelations were made of underpayment following a review of almost 2000 former and current workers last month.

A spokesman said: “The ABC remains in consultation with staff regarding the review of buyouts and band 1 classifications.″⁣

The ABC in September said it had underpaid staff after a PricewaterhouseCoopers review of almost 2000 current and former workers found some had not been paid correctly for their skill level. Others were not paid enough for loadings and allowances.

The email sent on Friday indicates that more staff than expected may need to be repaid, because of the calculation of entitlements for people who took annual leave on a public holiday between July 14, 2014, and July 20, 2021. It says the revised outcomes will be provided by PwC to staff in three weeks.

Under the latest round of repayments, sources said that those who are owed $15,000 are being offered up to $500 for financial services information. Those eligible must seek the financial advice within a 12-month period.

ABC management recently proposed removing pay-boosting “buyouts” for some current employees who were underpaid. Buyouts are intended to be a mutually beneficial way for the broadcaster to pay staff doing long or unpredictable hours because they replace allowances, overtime and penalty rates with a higher base salary, usually about 25 per cent above normal levels.

However, the recent PWC review found some buyouts had left staff more than $10,000 worse off over a six-year period compared to their pay had they tallied up their hours. ABC sources have previously expressed concerns they may not receive as much money given the ABC’s history of underpayments. They are also worried about a lack of financial stability from logging fluctuating hours.

A letter to ABC managers, provided to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on the condition of anonymity, says the national broadcaster should consider whether deadlines and volume of work for staff are sustainable and realistic when managing overtime. It also says ABC managers should consider whether individuals are working overtime and unnecessarily, taking longer time than needed on a particular task, or getting a “piece of work to perfection” when it may not be what is needed.

The offer to provide letters to banks is a separate step being taken by the ABC to alleviate concerns about the removal of the buyout scheme. Multiple sources confirmed the ABC would provide an average person’s salary to a bank, to help those with concerns about securing mortgage loans. But they said they did not believe it would be enough to secure bank loans.

ABC union house committee is still meeting regularly over the latest underpayments debacle but strike action has not been taken. The latest issue is separate to the $12 million underpayments relating to 1900 staff in 2020. The ABC made a then-record $600,000 apology payment to the wage regulator.

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.