A Victorian finance company has hit back at a former employee who claims it tried to cut his pay by more than $150,000 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Maurice Blackburn has launched a case against Mildura Finance, a subsidiary of Platform Finance, and its CEO Brad Crinion on behalf of manager Mark Cornell.
In a statement of claim filed to the Federal Court on June 3, Mr Cornell alleges his pay was unlawfully slashed from $203,650 to just $40,000 - equivalent to the JobKeeper payment.
Mr Cornell claims his division of the business was still busy and profitable but was told: "everyone's going to have to do it".
He said he was was told by Mr Crinion staff would "continue to work the required hours to complete their relevant workloads" despite having their hours cut.
Maurice Blackburn alleges the company did not consult Mr Cornell, provide him with three days' notice of the cuts or impose the cuts reasonably, as required by the JobKeeper rules.
Mr Cornell refused to take a pay cut then left Mildura Finance on May 6.
In a statement to AAP, Platform Finance has disputed Mr Cornell's allegations.
It says written notice was issued to all 85 staff informing them that the firm's revenue had dropped by well over 30 per cent, qualifying it for JobKeeper payments.
All staff other than Mr Cornell agreed to cuts to their salary and hours.
It says Mr Cornell's pay was never cut, despite revenue in his part of the business falling by 50 per cent.
"At no point was the business trying to exploit staff under the guise of COVID. In fact, we have done everything to protect the business and keep all employees in a job during, and following this period," the Platform Finance spokesperson said on Friday.
They said Mr Cornell was kept on his salary, but an administrative error meant he was underpaid on one occasion, which was immediately rectified.
Lawyer Andrew Bland, who represents the company, said the question of whether the business strictly complied with JobKeeper is not in dispute.
"An innocent mistake was made which was corrected at the earliest opportunity and Mr Cornell continued to receive his full wage, unlike every other employee," he said.
Mr Cornell is seeking penalties and compensation for what he alleges were breaches to the Fair Work Act and his employment contract.
Australian Associated Press
