In news from the Fair Work Ombudsman’s office, a Queensland apprentice has now been reimbursed thousands of dollars after being paid less than $10.00 per hour.
A flat hourly rate of $9.21 was being paid to the female adult apprentice who sought assistance after her request to be paid the minimum wage were rebuffed by her employer.
As an adult first year apprentice, the worker was in fact entitled to $15.71 per hour on weekdays, a higher hourly rate for early morning shifts plus penalty rates for working weekends and public holidays. It was determined that the worker was owed more than $17,000 over almost 12-months.
The employer told Fair Work inspectors he was unaware adult apprentices were entitled to a higher pay rate than juniors.