The Fair Work Ombudsman recently pursued the owner of a restaurant in Bendigo called Curry Garden for underpayment.
What’s interesting about this case is that the owner had initially declined to comply with the FWO’s contravention notice, telling the FWO that he would only back pay the employee if the employee provided a statement saying she had been kidnapped and forced to work against her will.
In other words, she agreed to the hourly rate and that’s the end of it.
As you can imagine the outcome, the FWO successfully prosecuted the employer and the Court issued a fine of about $15,000 on top of the back payment of wages.
The lesson to be learnt is that you should always be polite and courteous when you deal with the FWO (and not to underpay staff).
For more information, please contact our Employment Law and Workplace Safety team by email workplace@mst.com.au or by telephone +61 8540 0200.
