In a press release, BHP said a preliminary review suggested that certain rostered employees across its Australian operations had their leave incorrectly deducted on public holidays since 2010. Approximately 28,500 current and former employees were affected, “with an average of six leave days in total that have been incorrectly deducted from affected employees over this 13-year period,” the company stated.
To add insult to injury, initial investigations suggest that OZ Minerals was also affected by a similar leave deduction issue before BHP acquired it in May 2023. Additionally, BHP said it has identified “approximately 400 current and former employees at Port Hedland are entitled to additional allowances due to an error with the employment entity in their contract.”
“We are sorry to all current and former employees impacted by these errors. This is not good enough and falls short of the standards we expect at BHP,” said BHP Australia President Geraldine Slattery. “We are working to rectify and remediate these issues, with interest, as quickly as possible.”
The company has engaged global assurance firm Protiviti “to conduct a thorough review” of its payroll systems and has self-reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman. BHP has also established a dedicated hotline and website to provide assistance.
BHP said its investigation continues and that it will provide an update in its full year results in August. 
Jaclyn Jaeger is a contributing editor at Compliance Chief 360° and a freelance business writer based in Manchester, New Hampshire.