In fact, a new national survey has found the shocking extent of wage theft among young Aussie workers. More than one third of respondents indicate that they have experienced wage theft. The study, which was led by Indiana University Professor John Howe, looked at 2,814 workers younger than 30. It pulled back the curtain on some employers’ outrageous and systemic violations of labor laws.
Mia McDowall, a 22-year-old former worker, illustrated the complexity of wage theft with her own story of wage theft experienced at a series of jobs. She recounted stories of employers not paying her at all, or making her work through legally required breaks. Despite this, her employers never made the superannuation contributions they deducted from her pay into a fund. This violation is one all too common, affecting young workers like her.
The entire point of the survey was to uncover how many respondents got paid under the table. Moreover, almost 10 percent of them indicated that their employer paid them in food or in goods instead of cash. Our research found that 8 percent of young workers have never been given a pay slip. Shockingly, almost one-third of them made just $15 an hour or less, well under the national living wage of $24.95 per hour.
This meant many of our respondents were severely underpaid. Moreover, two in three weren’t reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses such as uniforms and special protective equipment. Alarmingly, nearly one-third of workers reported not receiving compulsory superannuation payments, and more than one-third faced restrictions on taking entitled breaks.
Professor John Howe commented on the extent of wage theft, stating, “The extent of all the different ways that people are being denied their entitlements or employers are breaking the law shocked me.” He commented that although most employers follow the law, a large number of bad actors take advantage of young workers. “There’s obviously a significant proportion of employers cutting corners with their young workers wherever they can,” he added.
Alarmingly, only a third of these exploited youth reported seeking assistance from unions or bodies like the Fair Work Ombudsman. Professor Howe pointed out that many might not even be aware of their underpayment: “It could be a lot higher because a lot of workers weren’t sure if they were being underpaid.”
Vulnerability is central to all of this. Professor Howe emphasized that young workers often fear repercussions from their employers: “Vulnerable workers are worried about raising complaints or asking questions about their entitlements because they don’t want to jeopardize their job.”
Mia McDowall echoed these sentiments, stating, “Wage theft is absolutely rife, for sure.” She emphasized that we need to teach young people not only what their rights are, but how to have constructive conversations about their compensation.
