employer super contributions

(thought id post in here coz super is an employment thing, but move it if it needs too!)

Last month work put it to me to go full time. After returning from maternity leave (and being stuffed around while on mat leave and when i returned- for those who havent followed the saga:) ) i was on part time hours. Anywhere between 12.5 &17 hrs a wk. I was basically told we want to put you on full time and have me a wk to 'think' about it. I said no, as the hours were perfect, the pay was enough (when teamed with centrelink) and i could do my job in the hours i was there. They asked again (gave me another wk to reconsider) and i said no. In that last wk to reconsider i was apparently showing the supervisor and another staff member the job. I didnt know it til about 20 mins before being called into the office. Worked it out for myself. Anyway i declined again and was basically told that i was finishing that day and then (it was home time for me then anyway.) thats just some background info. Heres the kicker- Took about 2wks to get my final pays and the payslip has no super amount on there. It wasnt til today when i called my super fund that i asked when the last super contribution was from that employer and it was APRIL. wtf?! So i called dh who spoke to his office manager who said just to call the tax office and dob them in. I called the employer under the guise that i was 'going to the bank for a loan' and needed all my payslips from Jan to Nov by 4pm. I got them and the payslip says i was paid super almost every wk & if there was no amount paid the ytd column still grows. (I have been paid by other companies owned by that boss so i will double check if super was paid by them first, before action is taken).

So my question is... what do i do? Just call the tax office? Do i call that boss and find out whats going on? What is super rate and when is it paid into my fund?(is there a certain $ that has to be earned or hrs that need to be worked to get super contributions?) im stressing about it all already. Please help!

I *think* that they only pay it quarterly? I remember back when I used to work (many moons ago now LOL) that even though they would take super out each week, it would only get paid to our funds quarterly. I would be onto them to make them pay it seeing as how you have left your employer anyway.

They can pay it quarterly, weekly, fortnightly, monthly... Maybe just ask them first when you can expect your super to be paid? Even make up the excuse of wanting to consolidate all your super accounts into one account if you want to.

I "dobbed" in my old employer to the tax office. I worked there for about 15-16 months and was never paid a cent in super. I called them a couple of months ago to lodge a claim, it was pretty simple, they just ask you lots of questions, and just make sure you have all the employer's details, the super fund it was supposed to be paid into and your tax file number etc handy. It does take a long time though, so don't expect the money straight away, it can take up to a few years for the investigation to be finalised. I lodged mine in October and still haven't heard how it is progressing.

This website may help, I apologise if I'm not allowed to post it...mods feel free to delete if it's not allowed! Unpaid super. What process does the Tax Office follow to investigate unpaid super?

my employer pays super fortnightly - but it's a govvie job, so it makes sense given the volume of employees. most will pay quarterly, some only annually. if you have worked and haven't been paid, i'd probably go direct to ATO - not so much that your employer won't fix it (i don't know on that one) - but because if he doesn't, and THEN you go to ATO - he's going to know who did kwim? it's probably not just you that isn't being paid....

i believe super should be at least 9% of your income, no matter what you earn.

Briggy'sgirl is correct with the rate - 9% of your income regardless of what your income is. I work in HR and there is no reason why super should not be paid. My company pays at fortnightly to our main super company and sometimes monthly to the smaller super companies elected by our employees.

I hope this gets sorted for you soon

Ok, getting my payroll brain out of mothballs. Employers are not allowed to pay annually, quarterly is the largest time frame they have to pay. Most super funds will chase up employers who are not paying at all, but unfortunately wont really pick up if one employee is not being paid super at all.

If you earn less than $450 per month they do not need to pay super. Also super does not need to be paid on things like occasional overtime, but if it is regular, then yes they do.

Hi there,

Astrid is 100% right. Employers must pay their 9% employee super contributions every quarter. In fact there are deadlines set by the governing body for each quarter that must be met. So if you haven't received a super payment since April and earn more than $450 a month they are way over due.

If you are a bit reluctant to put the ATO on to them right away, I would suggest calling your super fund. They usually have service managers (not the call centre) who will give you advice on how best to handle it and may even follow it up with your employer for you.

Good luck!