NAB hit with $169m bill for underpaying 66,000 staff

Detailed summary

The huge payout includes $127 million in back pay, $34 million in interest, $8 million in super and a record $2 million Fair Work contrition penalty.

National Australia Bank is paying a steep price of $169 million for underpaying thousands of their staff across the nation for years.

The financial giant has committed to paying $127 million, plus $34 million in interest and $8 million in superannuation as part of an enforceable undertaking with the Fair Work Ombudsman.

A $2 million contrition payment has also been imposed, the ombudsman said on Thursday.

The contrition payment is the largest ever included in an enforceable undertaking ordered by the ombudsman.

Back payments to the 66,000 impacted workers range from less than $5 to more than $87,000, including superannuation and interest, with an average back payment of about $1900.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said the bank had committed to fixing up systems such as payroll.

"NAB's underpayments highlight the serious, long-running problems that can arise when an employer fails to coordinate key business functions to meet their workplace obligations," Ms Booth said.

"It's particularly disappointing to see these types of large and long-running underpayment issues in such a well-resourced employer."

NAB first self-reported underpayments to the ombudsman in late 2019, after it became aware it made significant errors applying its most recent enterprise agreement.

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