The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price is sliding on Thursday amid news an error regarding employee leave could bring a US$280 million ($430 million) dint.
Upon review, the company found some rostered employees have had leave incorrectly deducted on public holidays for more than a decade.
Right now, the BHP share price is down 0.76%, trading at $41.70.
For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 0.14% at the time of writing.
Let's take a closer look at the latest from ASX's biggest company.
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BHP reveals $430m impact from employee leave error
The BHP share price is in the red amid news the company has identified issues with its employees' leave entitlements.
Over a 13-year period beginning in 2010, around 28,500 current and former BHP employees had an average of six days of leave deducted incorrectly.
Initial investigations also revealed OZ Minerals could have been affected by a similar issue. BHP acquired the copper miner earlier this year.
On top of that, the iron ore giant found around 400 current and former employees at Port Hedland have been impacted by an error with the employment entity in their contract. That sees them entitled to additional allowances.
All that is estimated to bring a cost of up to $430 million before tax, including superannuation and interest payments.
An investigation into the issue is continuing, with the company expected to provide another update alongside its full-year earnings in August. It has also engaged global assurance firm Protiviti to conduct a review of its payroll systems.
Geraldine Slattery, BHP president Australia, apologised to those impacted by the errors, continuing:
This is not good enough and falls short of the standards we expect at BHP. We are working to rectify and remediate these issues, with interest, as quickly as possible.
The ASX 200 company has vowed to contact all affected current and former employees and has self-reported to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
BHP share price snapshot
The BHP share price remains 7% lower than it was at the start of 2023. It has also fallen 8% since this time last year.
Meanwhile, the ASX 200 has risen 2% year to date and has fallen 2% over the last 12 months.
