Corporate Travel Management acknowledged it underpaid employees in Australia and New Zealand by $2.39 million. The company says it has arranged repayment to affected staff, including superannuation and interest where relevant, and has issued an apology.
Investors and customers are watching how the business handles both the staff remediation and a separate customer repayment saga.
The travel group is in tense discussions with its largest client in Britain, the UK government, over a repayment proposal linked to overcharged customers. It is trying to secure agreement on a plan that would keep the company solvent and allow it to continue servicing government contracts.
The government account is Corporate Travel’s biggest in the UK market. Any breakdown in talks could heavily damage its revenue base.
Corporate Travel’s problems have already spilled into its market status, with its shares suspended from trading since August. The suspension followed a trading halt triggered when auditors flagged non-cash reporting issues in the company’s books.
Those accounting concerns are significant enough that Corporate Travel expects to restate its historical financial statements and its FY25 accounts. The combination of restatements, underpayments and government repayment talks has intensified pressure on the business.
