Former ABC senior producer suing broadcaster for over $280,000
A former ABC senior producer is suing the beleaguered public broadcaster for underpayments, seeking more than $288,000 in compensation.
As reported by The Australian, Richard McDermott worked at the ABC for 21 years across several roles, joining as Lateline’s supervising producer in 1999, and ending up in 2020 as senior producer on Australian Story.
McDermott claims the ABC breached the Fair Work Act and he is owed $288,443.41 in compensation for underpayments.
In a statement of claim filed last month in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia in Sydney, McDermott claims he was “regularly required to work hours in excess of his ordinary hours including outside of his span of hours”.
The court documents state McDermott worked an average of 53 to 72 hours a week across various ABC programs.
He outlined various examples of times he was required to exceed his prescribed working hours, including weeks he worked 80.3 hours a week on two different Four Corners programs.
The compensation amount calculated is an estimate, given ABC did not keep a “prescribed record” of the hours that McDermott was required to work.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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