ABC underpaid 2500 casual employees over the last six years

The embattled public broadcaster is in further hot water for underpaying up to 2,500 casual staff over the past six years.

The ABC has admitted it has underpaid casual employees for the last six years. Picture: AFP.

The ABC’s budget black hole is set to blow out even further after the public broadcaster’s admission it has underpaid up to 2500 casual staff over the past six years, a move that is expected to cost millions of dollars.

The revelation, which has seen some staff short-changed thousands of dollars, comes at a difficult time for the rudderless ABC as it awaits the findings of the federal government’s efficiency review into the corporation and faces a cut to its $1 billion annual budget later this year.

The government is considering the appointment of a new chair for the ABC, which is also in need of a permanent managing director after the departure of its two most powerful leaders, Justin Milne and Michelle Guthrie, in late September. Their successors face a daunting task of getting the ABC into good financial shape, given staff resistance to change.

Rebekah Donaldson, ABC chief people officer, told staff it had recently been identified that some casual employees had been underpaid.

“A detailed review is under way to confirm how penalties, allow­ances and loadings should have been calculated and applied over the past six years to about 2500 ‘flat-rate’ casual staff,” she wrote in an email seen by The Australian.

Ms Donaldson said current and former casual staff who might be affected were being notified and the ABC was reviewing its processes to address the issue.

The Fair Work Ombudsman has been notified and is liaising with the ABC. The Australian has contacted Communications Minister Mitch Fifield for comment.

The ABC is also talking with the Community and Public Section Union, which brought the matter to its attention

“This error should not have occurred, and the ABC apologises to any casual employee who has been underpaid. The ABC is ­actively working to remedy this for affected employees as soon as possible,” Ms Donaldson said.

Shortly after the email was sent, the ABC posted a near identical statement on its website.

The ACTU described the matter as “systemic wage theft.”

It said the issue was uncovered after a CPSU member took a case to the Fair Work Commission, but the statute of limitations — six years — would mean that many workers would “never recover their stolen wages”.

The ABC has made widespread use of casual contracts for the past two decades, according to the ACTU.

The CPSU also lashed out at the ABC, saying the “negligent” underpayment of its casual staff highlighted its “failed approach to the hiring and treatment of non-permanent staff”.

“Clearly the total bill for underpaid wages is going to be substantial and comes at a time when the ABC can ill-afford it,” CPSU ABC section secretary Sinddy Ealy said in a statement.

“The scale of this mistake over so many years would be unacceptable in any workplace, let alone at our national broadcaster.”

The CPSU said the people responsible for the monumental mistake must be held accountable, particularly given their previous denials of any problem.

A CPSU spokesman said a recent review showed one ABC ­casual employee within the news division had been underpaid $19,000.

The spokesman told The Australian it was impossible to calculate how much was owed to staff at this stage, but the final bill was ­expected to be a “large figure”.

The ABC’s 2018 annual report revealed in October that the public broadcaster had a $71.2 million loss last financial year against a forecast surplus of $3.1m.

The broadcaster will also start to feel the pain of a smaller budget from July following the federal government’s decision last May to freeze its annual funding for three years, costing the organisation $84m. Of that, $15m will be cut in financial 2020, plus $28m and $41m in the two following years, respectively.

The ABC’s admission comes after several difficult months for the corporation following the sacking of managing director Ms Guthrie on September 24 over her performance. Her axing attracted huge media and public attention, and subsequently led to the resignation of then chairman Mr Milne a few days later. The pair had a prickly and difficult relationship during their time at the ABC.

David Anderson was appointed interim managing director of the ABC following Ms Guthrie’s sacking, but has subsequently said he wants the job permanently.

Ms Guthrie, who was halfway through her five-year term when she was sacked, alleged in November that Mr Milne touched her inappropriately. She told the ABC’s Four Corners program that he had touched her at a board dinner in November 2017.

Ms Guthrie last month launched legal action, claiming she was wrongfully dismissed by the broadcaster.