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OTR class action to settle for $5.8m
Petrol and convenience store chain OTR has agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle a class action with thousands of employees who claim they were underpaid.
Lauren Croft
After attending a mediation with a retired Supreme Court judge, the parties for the OTR (formally On the Run) class action have agreed to settle the claim, with Shahin Enterprises — the employing entity for the OTR group — to pay $5.8 million in compensation to employees.
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The proposed settlement would come with no admission of liability or wrongdoing from OTR, as detailed in Federal Court orders issued last week.
“The settlement sum is paid by SEPL without any admission of liability or wrongdoing and on a commercial basis to resolve the proceedings without the parties incurring further legal fees. As part of the settlement, the applicants are withdrawing all allegations of serious contraventions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth),” the documents stated.
Staff allege they were directed to undertake pre- and post-shift work without pay, work overtime and through their shifts without taking a break or serving customers during their break without being given additional meal break time, as well as not paid proper entitlements under their award. This applies to employees working across South Australian OTR sites between 2014 and 2020.
The class action was first launched in May 2020, on behalf of 1,050 workers — and the law firm that brought the proceedings, Adero Law, estimated that over 8,000 current or former employees were eligible to be part of the class action when it was first brought to court.
In addition to underpaying staff and failing to pay them for overtime hours, OTR is also alleged to have used its traineeship program as a way to reduce workers’ pay. The petrol store chain has denied any wrongdoing.
If approved by the court, the $5.8 million lump-sum payment will be divided between employees who have already registered to be part of the proceedings, with Adero Law’s fees capped at $1.5 million.
Approval of the settlement will be decided by the Federal Court in December. If approval is granted, the class action will be dismissed, and group members will receive a payment from the settlement sum.
Lawyers Weekly contacted Adero Law for a statement, but they did not respond in time for publication.
