NT Employer Taking Advantage of 457 Visa?

[BigSmiler]

Hi guys, please help, I will be so grateful.

I am employed on a 457 Visa. My visa states my guaranteed annual earnings are $54,134. My employer was investigated previously and was told to pay all money owed to staff that had not reached this amount, which they did.

Following this, they sent me an e-mail to advise that in order to make the guaranteed annual amount, with my current wage of $21.44/hr I have to work 48.5hrs to meet it.

I believe this to be wrong, but I need confirmation before I take it further as I am currently still employed with them and sponsored, so it's a big deal. From what I have researched, Full Time hours are 38hrs/week and anything over that is classed as overtime, which they are allowed to get me to work, as long as they are 'reasonable hours' and 'relevant to the job/workplace needs', or something like that.

So are they underpaying me and instead, making me work more hours to reach the amount?

The other thing is, if I don't make my 48.5hrs in a week, which is usually due to management closing early, they try to take it from my holiday or sick pay entitlements. This I know has to be wrong! It's not just me, they employ a lot of people on 457 Visas and they are taking advantage.

Any help? Thanks in advance!

 

[Lance]

Hi, so all employees in the NT are covered by the Australian fair work system. The systems states that an employer should not ask an employee to work more that 38hrs unless the additional hours are reasonable. So from my experience in corporate roles its ok to expect an employee from time to time to work more than 38hrs but as soon as you require regular in excess of 38hrs it is generally considered unreasonable.

Check out the Fair work website Welcome to the Fair Work Ombudsman website and if you feel your employer is being unreasonable you can contact the Fair Work Ombudsman to discuss options. I hope this helps.

 

[Matthew Lynch]

An extra 10 hours per week unpaid overtime is highly likely to be unreasonable. An extra two hours per week has been held to be reasonable.

An employer cannot make deductions from your annual leave and personal leave unless you have actually taken leave.

What industry are you in? What is your job and how many people are affected?

You can file an application in the Fair Work Commission for breach of the general protections if you have complained about this in writing and believe they are taking adverse action against you because of your complaint - for example by deducting your annual leave.

If you need help with the application let me know.

 

[BigSmiler]

Thanks guys. I thought as much.

There are definitely a few more people affected and probably more than I know. The industry is hospitality and they have a lot of sponsored workers. I know they have breached and are still breaching people's visa requirements on other things, too, but people have had enough. I think there will be more people complaining once I get the ball rolling. People are just too scared to say anything because of their visas.

I will be getting in touch with Fair Work and go from there.

Cheers.