Worker exposes sneaky detail in their contract that would have seen them lose thousands of dollars of their pay

An employee has revealed a sneaky detail in his employment contract that could have led to a pay cut, but employers blamed the subtle error on a ‘typo’.

The warehouse worker recently uploaded a post to Reddit of an email they received from the heads of the company after the worker signed the contract on June 4.

The email stated that the company would offer the employee ‘a variation’ on the employment conditions.

“Your compensation will increase from $60,000 per year excluding pension to $65,000 per year including pension,” the email said.

The change to the contract would have meant that the employee would receive $65,000 including pension, rather than receiving the amount separately.

The email also stated that the revised contract would also cover other entitlements such as overtime, penalty rates and work completed outside of ‘standard hours’.

The employee, who noticed the change in wording after they signed the contract, said it felt like the employers were “making fun” of them.

The employers said the use of the word “including” was a typographical error after the employee confronted bosses with the details.

The email (pictured) showed that the employee would be paid a revised amount of $65,000 per year, ‘including pension’

‘They tried to dismiss it as a typo, but also said they had it drawn up by an outside party. He looked at it and sent it to me,” the worker wrote.

“I asked, ‘So this went through a few people before it got to me?’ How come no one noticed this ‘typo’ before me?’

The email also stated that all other employee benefits remained unchanged.

‘The variation will take effect from November 4, 2024 and will last indefinitely.’

The Reddit post was flooded with more than a thousand comments, with many users urging the employee not to sign the contract.

Lead employment and industry lawyer at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers Patrick Turner said the email appeared to indicate the employers wanted to retain the employee.

“The changes would leave workers worse off than they are now,” Turner said news.com.au

The employers said the use of the word ‘including’ was a typographical error after the warehouse worker confronted the bosses about the details (photo stock image)

The employee, who revealed that they quit the job because they had received another job offer, claimed that they were fired after giving a week’s notice.

“A minute later my manager comes up and says they’re firing you today [and] Don’t really worry about the week’s notice period,” the employee wrote.

Employers in Australia can make changes to the working conditions of their employees and these changes must comply with Australian Fair Work laws.

Employers may not change an employee’s employment contract without their consent and employees have the right to be informed in advance of changes to their employment conditions.