The Commonwealth Bank has been fined $36,000 after pleading guilty to failing to pay long service entitlements to its staff.

Australia’s richest company, the Commonwealth Bank, has been fined $36,000 after pleading guilty to failing to pay long service entitlements to its staff.

The Commonwealth Bank, one of the largest private employers in the nation, produced a $9.5-billion profit last year. However, on Monday, it faced the humbling experience of appearing in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court alongside shoplifters and drunk drivers after a successful case brought by the Victorian government’s wage inspector.

The pleas for mitigation were similar: contrition, remorse, and no prior offenses. Wage Inspectorate Victoria, a state government agency that pursues wage theft, alleged in 2022 that BankWest and CommSec violated the law by failing to pay more than $69,000 in long service leave entitlements to 23 former employees. This was later reduced to 17 employees during Monday’s court hearing.

For the individuals, the unpaid amounts ranged from $500 to over $10,000, with most exceeding $1,000.

In front of Magistrate Kathryn Fawcett, the bank’s lawyers entered guilty pleas to the criminal charges. The bank has spent more than $1 million to rectify the issue and agreed to pay $12,000 for the legal costs of the wage agency.

“Inadvertence or system failures are not acceptable excuses for failing to pay employee entitlements,” Magistrate Fawcett said during sentencing.