Victorian Workers’ Wages Protection Act 2007
The Victorian Workers’ Wages Protection Act 2007 (‘the Act’) commenced in Victoria on 01 December 2008. The Act is directed towards regulating:
- the manner in which an employee may be paid his or her wages;
- the manner in which deductions may be made from an employee’s wages; and
- provides for a set of remedies in the event of a contravention of the legislation.
Wages
Wages are defined for the purposes of the Act as: The amount to which an employee is entitled in respect of services performed by the employee including (but not limited to) salary, income, allowances, overtime, leave payments, termination payments, bonuses and gratuities and commissions.
The Act specifically excludes from wages “payments in kind [or the value thereof] made in accordance with a remuneration package agreed between the [parties]. Most commonly, such payments would include provision of a motor vehicle.
Deductions
Deductions are “any amount comprising part of an employee’s wages that is not paid to the employee including (but not limited to) any amount withheld in accordance with a salary sacrifice arrangement or paid to another person on behalf of the employee”.
