Vic office worker short-changed $34k

A Melbourne office worker has been short-changed the equivalent of nine months pay.

The Fair Work Ombudsman found that the clerical worker at a Greensborough real estate agency was underpaid $34,000 over a period of two years.

The employee, aged in her 60s, was often only paid a fraction of her wages and sometimes went weeks without any income.

The business claimed its cash-flow problems were the cause of the problem, but agreed to reimburse the employee all outstanding entitlements.

Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said this was just one example of a number of underpayments uncovered in a blitz on businesses in Melbourne's northern suburbs totalling $70,000.