<p>Global mining giant BHP said Thursday it had been underpaying thousands of Australian staff for more than a decade, an error that will cost at least US$280 million to fix.</p>.<p>The company said 28,500 current and former employees were stripped of paid leave they were entitled to.</p>.<p>BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery said the error would be rectified "as quickly as possible" and "with interest".</p>.<p>The company did not explain how the error occurred.</p>.<p>"We are sorry to all current and former employees impacted by these errors. This is not good enough and falls short of the standards we expect at BHP," Slattery said.</p>.<p>BHP expects to have a fuller estimate of the cost of the error when it reports earnings in August, but it put the initial price tag at "US$280 million pre-tax."</p>.<p>The company's share price fell almost one per cent on the news.</p>.<p>BHP is one of the world's largest companies, and a leading producer of metallurgical coal, iron ore, nickel, copper and potash.</p>.<p>Australia has some of the world's strongest labour protections and it is not uncommon for companies to discover problems with past payrolls and be forced to rectify the situation.</p>
<p>Global mining giant BHP said Thursday it had been underpaying thousands of Australian staff for more than a decade, an error that will cost at least US$280 million to fix.</p>.<p>The company said 28,500 current and former employees were stripped of paid leave they were entitled to.</p>.<p>BHP Australia president Geraldine Slattery said the error would be rectified "as quickly as possible" and "with interest".</p>.<p>The company did not explain how the error occurred.</p>.<p>"We are sorry to all current and former employees impacted by these errors. This is not good enough and falls short of the standards we expect at BHP," Slattery said.</p>.<p>BHP expects to have a fuller estimate of the cost of the error when it reports earnings in August, but it put the initial price tag at "US$280 million pre-tax."</p>.<p>The company's share price fell almost one per cent on the news.</p>.<p>BHP is one of the world's largest companies, and a leading producer of metallurgical coal, iron ore, nickel, copper and potash.</p>.<p>Australia has some of the world's strongest labour protections and it is not uncommon for companies to discover problems with past payrolls and be forced to rectify the situation.</p>