http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...ion-to-employees/story-e6frep7o-1226474827549
THE Titans are embroiled in a fresh scandal following revelations the club owes an estimated $310,000 in unpaid superannuation to its employees, including Gold Coast players.
The Sunday Mail can reveal the Titans have breached federal statutory laws by failing to consistently meet compulsory superannuation payments to office staff and NRL-contracted players over the past two years.
Titans chief executive David May yesterday confirmed the club was in arrears on payments.
The ARL Commission last night condemned the Titans, with inquiries prompting May to issue an email circular on Friday to the club's players and staff pledging to meet all payments.
The superannuation saga raised the ire of the ARL Commission with interim boss Shane Mattiske issuing a stern warning to the Titans, saying: "It is a negative look for the club without question and one that won't be allowed to continue."
The Gold Coast are battling the Australian Tax Office on dual fronts, with the football club arm of the Titans empire trying to settle an outstanding tax bill that stood at about $2.11 million last year.
May pledged to address the superannuation issue urgently. The Titans boss is currently in talks with the ATO and has requested a detailed reconciliation statement after notifying the tax office the club has not fully met superannuation payments.
May says the club intends to clear the outstanding debts this week, but the ARL Commission will come under increasing pressure to strip the Titans of their licence following the latest ructions to hit the club.
An investigation by The Sunday Mail can also reveal:
Many Titans players and office staff have received irregular superannuation payments, or none at all;
One staffer has not been paid superannuation for 17 months;
Disgraced majority owner Michael Searle left for a United States holiday on Thursday - only 10 days after returning from a $27,000 trip to Cuba and the Cayman Islands;
A Titans player with Origin experience recently had his outstanding super contributions settled after his management complained to the club;
The Titans have four separate debts owing to the ATO, including superannuation, pay-as-you-go (PAYG) tax, payroll tax and GST. The collective amount was more than $2 million in unpaid tax last October, the end of the Titans' financial year.
The Titans are in breach of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act. Under Australian government laws, an employer is legally required to pay a minimum 9 per cent of an employee's ordinary earnings to a nominated super fund if they earn more than $450 a month.
May last night assured Titans players and staff they would receive every cent due as part of his charter to make the club debt free.
"There are people owed superannuation by the club and that needs to be fixed, we are working on it right this second," May said.
"We are trying to move forward and fix the problems and be the club that our staff and our community can be proud of.
"I sent all our staff and players an email (on Friday afternoon) that the contributions will be brought up to date next week.
"It is absolutely the intention of the Titans, with the new investors on board, to solve all of the issues that are outstanding."
Mattiske made it clear the Titans could not avoid paying compulsory superannuation. "The player entitlements have to be paid and we have already taken steps to ensure this happens," he said.
"This is an absolute requirement and ensuring these payments will be made has been addressed.
"We have been monitoring the status of the club closely. From the moment we became aware of the non-payment of some player entitlements, we provided a guarantee from the game that these entitlements would be funded, should they not be paid directly."
Mattiske would not be drawn on whether the Gold Coast are at risk of having their licence revoked, but said: "We will continue to strictly monitor the Titans."
A former Titans employee told The Sunday Mail he received irregular super payments for 18 months, but said staff were reluctant to speak out in fear of being sacked.
"In my case, I checked with my financial adviser and he found irregular superannuation payments (from the Titans) over a number of years," the ex-employee said.
"Some times I would get the correct amount, then another month I'd get nothing, then I'd get a lesser amount, then there'd be nothing for a few months and then there'd be a big lump sum."
May said the debts would be wiped out by existing cash flow and fresh funds from new investment triumvirate Darryl Kelly, Graeme Connor and Anshuman Magazine.
"The people investing in the club are people of high regard with a reputation for doing things in the right way," he said.
"All of us are interested in closing the book on the past in an honest, equitable and decent fashion."
