Mark* was employed on a common law contract, rather than the enterprise agreement, for more than six years.

This meant he was on a lower pay rate and missed out on allowances, penalty rates and overtime pay.

For six years, Mark worked overtime and antisocial hours at the request of his employer, without any extra pay.

When Mark suspected this wasn’t right, he went looking for answers.

Mark said, “I sent several emails to the Fair Work Ombudsman and my employer and tried to sort it out myself, but I hit a brick wall. That’s when I spoke to the CPSU and got my organiser Steve on to it.”

Together, Steve and Mark collected evidence and presented Mark’s claim to his employer that he should be covered by the enterprise agreement.

After reaching agreement that he should have been employed under the terms of the enterprise agreement since he commenced work, Mark and Steve began work negotiating a fair settlement for back pay.

Mark and Steve painstakingly investigated, researched and calculated the pay, overtime, allowances and penalty rates that he had been short-changed.

Following months of meetings with his employer, they agreed on a settlement package totalling more than $200,000.

“I want to say a big thank you to the CPSU and Steve in particular,” said Mark.

* Details have been changed to preserve anonymity and comply with a privacy agreement. Stock photo used.