Swinburne takes action to correct payroll issue
In Summary
- Investigation found approximately $3.66 million is owed to staff in underpaid superannuation and interest
- Average superannuation underpayment per affected employee is $570
- Underpayment for more than half affected employees is less than $100
Vice-Chancellor Professor Linda Kristjanson AO has written to all staff to advise of a matter regarding the university’s payroll process where some employee superannuation contributions were underpaid. In some cases, employee PAYG Payment Summaries were not correct.
The matter was identified by Swinburne following an internal review.
Professor Kristjanson says Swinburne’s highest priority has been to fix this matter in a way that minimises the impact for staff.
“On behalf of the university, I apologise for these errors and for any worry or concern felt by our staff,” she says.
Although these errors did not affect all staff, the university has sent a personal letter to each employee and each affected former employee to explain any individual impact.
In the email that went to all staff, Professor Kristjanson says once the issue had been identified the university engaged leading professional services firm, PwC, to undertake a full investigation.
Those affected within the scope of the investigation are also assured they will have all superannuation owing paid to their superannuation fund, including interest.
“At all times our intention has been to do the right thing by our staff. As soon as we had confirmation from the relevant regulatory authorities of our preferred resolution we moved to inform staff,” says Professor Kristjanson.
Summary of investigation
The investigation found that approximately $3.66 million is owed to staff in underpaid superannuation ($2.13 million) and interest ($1.53 million), the average superannuation underpayment per affected employee was $570 and the underpayment for more than half affected employees was less than $100.
Some staff were also affected by incorrect Reportable Employer Superannuation Contributions (RESC). In a small number of cases, some staff were also affected by incorrect Reportable Fringe Benefit Amount (RFBA) calculations.
For more information, view our payroll website.
How to get in contact
If any current or former staff members have any questions or are unsure of any details, they are encouraged to contact Swinburne Payroll on 03 9214 8600 (select option one) or email payroll@swinburne.edu.au.