Federal Court judge throws out Police Union Victoria unpaid overtime claim

Australia Broadcast Center

2 days ago

A Federal Court judge has thrown out a case brought by Victoria's police union that alleged frontline members were owed hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid overtime.
The Police Association Victoria (TPAV) launched the proceedings against Victoria Police last year, demanding current and former officers receive six years' worth of unpaid wages related to time spent preparing for and finishing up their shifts.
But on Thursday, Justice Shaun McElwaine rejected the claim and ordered the proceeding be dismissed.
The union stated officers were expected to arrive 30 minutes before their rostered start time to perform various tasks, including preparing and checking equipment and doing paperwork, in what is known as "kit up" and "kit down" duties, which it stated equalled to up to five hours of overtime a week.
In a statement, TPAV said while the court's decision was "disappointing", it was a "necessary fight" to have, with its campaign having already led to Victoria Police paying members for previously unpaid tasks.
"Work tasks like kitting up and kitting down, administrative tasks and handovers which were performed for years by our members for free, on their time, are now performed within their shift time thanks to changes in the most recent EBA," a TPAV spokesperson said.
"We believe that if the employer concedes that these tasks should be built into working shifts now and into the future, there should exist a liability for the past in which these tasks were performed outside of rostered hours."
In February, Victoria Police members overwhelmingly backed a new pay deal that would see all staff receive an annual pay rise of 4.5 per cent.
It followed a bitter and protracted pay dispute that forced the resignation of former top cop Shane Patton, following a vote of no-confidence by Victoria Police members.