Sacked Queensland staff dudded out of entitlements by ignorant employers SACKED Queensland workers are being dudded of entitlements by bosses who dont know their legal obligations. But that ignorance has not saved employers" hip pockets, with the Fair Work Ombudsman today to reveal that almost $200,000 has been awarded to Queensland workers in the past few months. Apprentice payrise "could kill training system" Yesterday, Federal Circuit Court in Brisbane handed down a judgment ordering Rockhampton's Central Car & Truck Rental Pty Ltd, which trades as Thrifty Car Rental, and its sole director, John Edward Featherstone, to cough up more than $90,000 for underpaying an employee for five years. Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland spokesman Nick Behrens said the overwhelming majority of businesses did the right thing by their employees. "Those businesses which intentionally do not pay staff at the correct rate deserve to be prosecuted,"" he said. In most cases, the oversight is due to the complexity of the Fair Work Act, which is reflected by the hundreds of calls our Employer Assistance Line receives every month from confused businesses. In particular, the introduction of modern awards with transitional wage rates on July 1, 2010, has been a constant source of confusion for business owners. Queensland Council of Unions president John Battams said some small businesses might not have the personnel or staff to know what they had to pay employees, but others were just unscrupulous. Mr Battams said some sacked workers would be leaving their jobs without all their entitlements. "And often they haven't got another job to go to,"" Mr Battams said. He urged the new Abbott Government not to "fiddle with"" the FWO because workplace laws were working well. Ombudsman Natalie James said it could be costly for businesses that failed to find out what their staffs were owed. "There's a variety of different reasons why employers don't pay their employees correctly, but in the overwhelming majority of cases it's because business operators aren't fully aware of their obligations or have made a mistake,"" she said. That could be due to a clerical oversight or because they've done what they thought was the right thing without checking, or because they've referred to an outdated award or agreement. A common mistake is failure to pass on annual increases in the minimum wage. This has a flow-on effect to penalty rates, shift loadings, overtime and public holiday rates and, if left unchecked, can mount up. "When we establish that a breach of workplace laws has occurred, our Fair Work inspectors help employers to put processes in place to ensure they are compliant in the future."" Case studies $10,900 for a manager at a Brisbane insurance company underpaid redundancy pay entitlements after being sacked earlier this year $10,000 for a community services worker employed at multiple locations throughout Queensland underpaid first aid allowances and overtime rates in 2011-2012 $9000 for a manager at a Capella hospitality business not paid annual leave entitlements after being sacked in 2012, $8100 for an administrative officer at a Rockhampton sports club not paid annual leave entitlements after being sacked earlier this year, $7900 for a Toowoomba glazier not paid redundancy pay entitlements after being sacked earlier this year, $6600 for a Gold Coast apprentice hairdresser underpaid the minimum hourly rate, overtime, weekend penalty rates, annual leave and personal leave entitlements between 2009 and 2011, $6400 for an administration officer at Palmwoods underpaid personal leave entitlements over a two-month period earlier this year, $6400 for an adult apprentice painter at Townsville inadvertently paid junior apprentice pay rates in 2012, $5300 for a Bundaberg cleaner not paid annual leave entitlements and outstanding wages after being sacked last year $5200 for a receptionist at a Hervey Bay resort underpaid the minimum hourly rate in 2010-2011, and $5000 for a Moura labourer underpaid the minimum hourly rate last year.