THE Justice and Community Safety Directorate has been put on notice after an investigation found it mistakenly overpaid ambulance workers up to $56,000 in leave entitlements. 

A Fair Work Ombudsman investigation revealed the department failed to keep track of leave entitlements owed to ACT Ambulance Service staff occurred over a four year period between 2008 and 2012.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s report details a chronology of events and issues which led to concerns over the accuracy of employee records, including the employer’s publication of incorrect and potentially inflated leave balances on employee pay slips for a period of more than two years.

The report acknowledges actions taken by the employer to address problems with payroll management systems over time but states, “this action did not successfully manage the potential consequences resulting from the continued publication of incorrect leave balances”.

The Ombudsman found the Justice and Community Safety Directorate “contravened workplace laws relating to keeping accurate employee records and correcting those records as soon as the employer becomes aware of error” and said it would issue a Letter of Caution to the Justice and Community Safety Directorate in relation to the contraventions and has put it on notice regarding future compliance.

The Fair Work Ombudsman will conduct further inspection of the Justice and Community Safety Directorate’s records before September 2014 to check that it is complying with its obligations.

The Fair Work Ombudsman’s report is available at www.fairwork.gov.au