The union movement welcomes the Federal Government’s announcement that superannuation is to be paid on the same day as wages.
When super is paid quarterly rather than on the same day as wages, it is harder to track when it is not being paid. Like wage theft, failure to pay superannuation is rife: employers fail to pay up to $5 billion a year in super to millions of workers, which has serious implications for their retirement.
Mandating for super to be paid with wages will not only make it easier to detect and recover unpaid super, it will also help prevent its non-payment – quarterly payments will no longer obscure what workers are owed.
This announcement comes as legislation is also before Federal Parliament to finally enshrine superannuation as a universal workplace right in the National Employment Standards. This will ensure every worker has the right to recover unpaid super.
“Paying superannuation at the same time as wages is a long overdue measure that will make it easier for workers to track their super and ensure they’re getting paid what they’re owed,” ACTU Assistant Secretary Scott Connolly said.
“Millions of workers have billions of dollars of retirement savings unpaid every year – timing superannuation payment with wages will make this harder,” Connolly said.
“Working people will also soon have superannuation recognised as a workplace right in the National Employment Standards, meaning workers and their unions can commence recovery action sooner to stem the haemorrhaging of retirement savings.
“Every worker should have the right to have 100 per cent of their super paid on time, all the time. The union movement welcomes the key steps the Albanese government is taking to protect workers’ super.”
Millions of workers will be thousands of dollars better off in retirement under federal government plans to require all businesses to pay their employees’ superannuation on payday.
A proposed update to laws that currently allow businesses to pay super quarterly will also make it tougher for employees not to pay the super guarantee at all, which costs workers billions in unpaid super each year.
The IEU can give members advice about their super payments.