Queensland Health payroll errors still not corrected fully

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDMay 4 2010

The payment woes of many Queensland Health care staff continue this pay cycle according to the Queensland Nurses Union. After the installation of a new computerized payroll system this March tens of thousands of health staff have been underpaid, overpaid, or not paid.

This is the fourth pay cycle using this new system. This Wednesday it has been a problem for only a couple of workers says QNU secretary Gay Hawksworth but more problems may come forth after people check their bank balances. “It looks like at this stage that people have got their pay, but they've had some shift penalties missing… There have been no reports of people not being paid,” she said. “It's early days yet, a lot of them are at work, they just haven't had a chance to look at their cheques yet…We don't expect to have an idea until about lunchtime,” she added.

Health Minister Paul Lucas had admitted last week that he could not assure that this pay cycle would be flawless. It is expected that it would be sometime before all problems are ironed out.