CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Fair Work Ombudsman, Australia's statutory office established to promote harmonious, productive, cooperative and compliant workplace relations has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and Commonwealth Securities Limited (CommSec), claiming breach of pay rules between October 2015 and December 2020.
The regulator said this led to underpayment to staff.
It is alleged that CBA failed to pay $10.05 million to 4,999 employees, and CommSec failed to pay $6.39 million to 2,426 employees, with some of these workers performing work for both the entities during the period. For the alleged serious contraventions, the maximum penalties for each company is up to $666,000 per breach. For all other contraventions, the companies could face penalties of up to $66,600 per breach.
The regulator said, 'CBA and CommSec also applied invalid IFAs to some staff, leading to a failure to pay various entitlements, including minimum rates, overtime, weekend and public holiday penalty rates and some allowances.'
A directions hearing in the Federal Court in Sydney is still to be scheduled.
Shares of Commonwealth Bank of Australia closed Monday's trading at 104.69 Australian Dollars, up AUD 0.24 or 0.23 percent from previous close.
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