Queensland estate agencies failing to lodge staff pay agreements
A number of Queensland real estate agents have been failing to lodge staff pay agreements, a Fair Work Ombudsman targeted compliance campaign has revealed. The highest rate of non-compliance was on the Gold Coast, where 20 of the 31 employers audited (65%) had failed to lodge agreements.
The Fair Work Ombudsman checked the books of 156 employers earlier this year to ensure they were meeting their obligation to lodge written pay agreements for their staff with the Queensland Property Industry Registry (QPIR).
Fair Work inspectors found that 48% had lodged their agreements, but 52% had failed to.
It is a requirement under the Real Estate Industry Award 2010 for employers to lodge a written agreement with the QPIR for all staff classified as property/strata management or property sales employees.
The agreement must state how the employee will be paid – commission-only, part-commission or as per the rates listed in the modern award – and detail steps that will be taken to ensure award entitlements are not undercut.
Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson says employers who fail to lodge agreements are at greater risk of underpaying their employees.
“We conducted this campaign because we identified that many of the underpayment complaints we receive from real estate industry workers in Queensland were against employers who had not lodged pay agreements with the QPIR,” Wilson says.
Some 55% of the 65 Brisbane employers audited were non-compliant, while 29% of the 21 Sunshine Coast employers audited were non-compliant.
In all cases, employers agreed to promptly lodge agreements after Fair Work inspectors educated the businesses about their obligations.
Wilson says the process of employers negotiating and lodging written pay agreements focuses employers’ minds on the applicable minimum pay rates and ensures employees have clarity about their pay structure.
“By ensuring employers are complying with the requirement to lodge agreements, we aim to prevent underpayments and pay disputes before they occur,” he says.
Employers were selected at random and inspectors were sensitive to the special needs of businesses suffering as a result of recent extreme weather events in Queensland.
