17 March 2017
Our client may have failed to pay a former employee the applicable penalty rates under an award for working weekday evenings. Only the base rate of pay under the award was paid. The failure relates as far back as 2010.
I note that s 544 of the Fair Work Act states that a person may only apply for a contravention of a civil remedy provision (such as contravening a modern award) if the application is made within 6 years after the day on which the contravention occurred.
Can you please confirm that as a consequence of s 544, our client only has to make restitution for underpayments made in the last 6 years?
It is beyond the scope of this Q & A service to provide detailed advice about particular matters pertaining to your client. Having said that, we can provide general information about issues apparent from your query.
Two issues arise from your query:
Six year limitation periods apply to both causes of action.
Regards
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