Sydney Water workers ‘freaking out’ as payroll blunder causes chaos

Workers at one of Australia’s biggest utilities have been left broke and “going crazy” after a payroll error left hundreds without pay.

At the beginning of July, Sydney Water migrated its payroll services to a new system called Dayforce; this caused workers to fear a smooth transition.

Workers said that under the new system, they would first be paid on Tuesday last week and the staff would be paid every two weeks.

But some were underpaid, some were overpaid, some were paid late, and some were even not paid at all.

Others received incorrect premium contributions and had difficulty marking leave days registered in the system.

One employee, who wished to remain anonymous, said the uncertainty was taking a toll on the company’s workforce.

“We’re all going crazy with anxiety, there’s mass anxiety,” he said.

“I had colleagues phoning me in tears at 2 a.m. in the morning, worried about whether they could pay child support so they could see their children.

“We’re all stressed about whether we’ll be able to pay our rents, our mortgages, whether we’ll be able to feed our children.”

The debacle led to the Australian Services Union submitting an appeal to the Fair Work Commission demanding the provider either fix its new system or revert to its old system until the transition is smoothed out.

“No one should have to come to work worried about whether they can pay their bills,” the production worker added.

“When it arrived, there was little to no training on how to use the device. [Dayforce] App and it feels like no one is really taking responsibility for what went wrong.”

ASU’s NSW secretary, Angus McFarland, said the union had warned the company that the software “could not cope with the complexity of a 24/7 workforce”.

“Hundreds of workers at Sydney Water were either shortchanged or received late wages because they refused to acknowledge problems flagged during tests of the new payroll system.

“Our union warned Sydney Water not to switch to this failed software because testing has proven it is not ready for implementation.

“In one of the most expensive cities in the world, working people live from week to week and rely on their wages to arrive in their accounts in full and on time.

“After this payroll disaster, no one is confident the problems will be solved.”

The worker said communication from Sydney Water about this issue was extremely limited and the issue was not fully addressed until Friday.

In an email to staff and seen by NewsWire, Sydney Water admitted the transition “did not go as planned”.

“This has created uncertainty around payment outcomes and added stress at a time when you rightly expect confidence and clarity,” the email said.

“I apologize for the impact this has had on our people.”

The email acknowledged the disruption and frustration experienced by workers following the launch, but warned that resolution would “take some time.”

“While significant work has already been done to address issues as they arise, I want to be transparent that challenges may remain as we stabilize and optimize the Dayforce platform and adapt to associated changes in the ways we work,” he added in the email.

“We are committed to solving problems, learning from feedback, and continually improving our employees’ experience.

“But it will take some time to resolve all the issues.”

A spokesperson for Sydney Water said the change was made because old systems “no longer met” the requirements and the firm was working to resolve the issues.

“Sydney Water is aware that some employees have experienced payroll issues following the implementation of our new Dayforce system and we sincerely apologize to those affected,” the spokesperson said.

“Accurate and timely payment is a fundamental expectation and our priority is to resolve these issues as quickly as possible and ensure affected employees receive the support they need.

“As with many large-scale technology transitions, issues arose as the system was integrated. We are aware of payroll processing issues affecting some employees and are working directly with those affected to promptly correct them.

“We acknowledge the concerns raised by ASU and are committed to working constructively with employees and unions.”