Employers are being urged to stay on top of pay requirements in the wake of the changed industrial relations regime, or risk having to stump up thousands of dollars in back pay to employees.

This issue has been highlighted after a Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) audit into the retail industry found that more than a quarter of audited retailers were underpaying their staff, with many employers still being unaware of the provisions of 2009’s Fair Work Act.

The FWO’s random search of just under 2,000 businesses found that 26% were in breach of workplace regulations and laws, though many were doing so unwittingly. Retailers have so far been ordered to pay $585,000 back to employees.

The contraventions primarily related to underpayment of wages, failure to conform with payslip requirements and failure to adhere to time and wage requirements. Inspectors also found some retailers were:

• Employing adults only, potentially in breach of anti-discrimination laws
• Unlawfully requiring staff to make purchases in-house and deducting the price from the employee’s wages
• Incorrectly classifying their employees, and thus underpaying their entitlements
• Expecting staff to perform set up and closing duties outside of trading hours for no payment

Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson urged employers to reduce their risk of contravening industrial relations laws by educating themselves on their legal responsibilities, starting with a visit to the FWO website.

“Many employers underpay as the result of a lack of information, or they make mistakes interpreting the information they have,” he said.

He added that non-compliance isn’t just an issue that only affects smaller businesses without HR or industrial relations experience: Retail giant Super A-Mart was recently ordered to repay more than $1.3m to almost 900 workers after Fair Work Australia recommended a self-audit following a complaint.

In a landmark payout, the retailer, which operates more than 30 stores throughout Australia, calculated it had underpaid 877 employees a total of $1.376m between March, 2006 and March, 2010.

Super A-Mart told the FWO that the breaches occurred because of a “breakdown in management communication”.

Wilson said the case highlights that a small mistake affecting a large workforce over an extended period of time can result in a hefty bill for back-payment of wages.

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