Comm Bank has underpaid 8000 workers by $4.8m

Killian Plastow
Apr 17, 2019, updated Apr 17, 2019

Commonwealth Bank will repay 8000 workers a combined $4.8 million. Photo: AAP

Australia’s biggest bank has promised to repay millions owed to staff left out of pocket by “discrepancies” in the bank’s calculations.

The Commonwealth Bank’s underpayments came to light in an internal review of employee entitlements that looked at pay, superannuation, and leave.

It found “approximately 8000” people were entitled to back pay “totalling $4.8 million, including interest”.

Andrew Culleton, the bank’s group people services executive general manager, said CBA regretted the errors in calculating and processing entitlements paid its through Australian payrolls (including Bankwest).

“Our people have worked, and continue to work hard to support our customers, and I want to assure them that we’re fixing our systems and processes so this doesn’t happen again,” Mr Culleton said on Wednesday.

“All impacted current and former employees with entitlements owing will receive backpay with interest, and their leave balances adjusted where applicable.”

The announcement follows a similar review conducted by the bank in 2017, which found 36,000 staff were owed $16.7 million in unpaid superannuation.

In a note to members, the Finance Sector Union said it would work with those who were affected to ensure they received everything they were owed.

“The FSU will be representing FSU members to ensure that any pay or leave that CBA owes you is paid properly, once and for all,” the note said.

‘Misleading’ jobs scare

Commonwealth Bank also made headlines on Friday after reports that it looking to close 300 branches and cut 10,000 staff – about a fifth of its international workforce.

FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said the cuts would have a “devastating impact” on the thousands of affected workers. She called on Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn to provide more information about the future of the workers’ roles.

The bank has since confirmed in a statement that the reports were inaccurate, labelling them “misleading and unnecessarily alarming”.

Ms Angrisano did not respond to The New Daily’s request for comment. However, she disputed the bank’s responses on Twitter.