WRC finds travel expenses are outside Payment of Wages Act

The Workplace Relations Commission found that Victor Ogiem Udia’s complaint about unpaid travel expenses was outside its jurisdiction because the Payment of Wages Act excludes work-related expenses from wages; the merits were not decided. The decision, dated 31 July 2023, concerned a complaint against One Customer’S Solution, (Ocs) Group Security Contractor. Udia said he had not been paid expenses incurred when required to work far from his base. The company argued that travel expenses were not wages under the Act. The WRC found that payments for expenses incurred in carrying out employment are excluded from the Act’s definition of wages.