Capecare payroll discrepancies sees 400 workers compensated for nearly six years of incorrect pay

Capecare staff are set to receive back payments after the organisation identified significant payroll discrepancies as far back as 2014. About 400 current and past staff have been affected by the discrepancies occurring between 2014 and 2020, with the aged-care provider announcing they will be repaying all monies owed with interest to recognise and recompense all impacted employees. Capecare chief executive Joanne Penman said the organisation’s board and management team is working hard to ensure remediation payments would be made as quickly as possible. “The discrepancies were identified by a new member of our payroll team,” she said. “Following a rigorous investigation, the main cause was determined to be inconsistencies of award interpretations in our systems.” Capecare chair Martha Ryan said the board took the discovery seriously and regretted the errors made. “We sincerely apologise to affected staff and Capecare is doing its best to compensate staff as quickly as possible,” she said. “On discovery of the potential errors, the board and management proactively appointed independent auditors KPMG to undertake an extensive review to ensure accuracy and full transparency.” The company has since self-reported its non-compliance to the Fair Work Ombudsman, advising that it had incorrectly applied clauses of the nurses award 2010 and the aged care award 2010. Ms Penman, who commenced with Capecare in October 2021, said the team was taking every reasonable measure to ensure this kind of error does not recur. “We are implementing a number of new procedures and systems, including investing in a new HR information system to measure time and attendance, outsourcing the payroll function, utilising a compliance officer to monitor changes to awards and national employment standards, developing an internal payroll audit process, and introducing annual external payroll audits.” Affected staff will be contacted via mail and phone and advised of the monies owed and the process for repayment.