Key points:
* A total 86 staff were underpaid at 15 Degani outlets in Melbourne and Rockhampton
* Some also cafes failed to keep proper records of staff payments
* The Fair Work Ombudsman recovered $44,165 in lost wages for staff
* Fair Work has launched wage investigations into a number of cafes and restaurants

More than $44,000 in unpaid wages has been recovered for dozens of staff at Degani Bakery and Cafe outlets, after an investigation found the popular food chain had failed to meet basic workplace requirements.

The Fair Work Ombudsman audited 14 cafes in Melbourne, and two in Rockhampton, after receiving what it said was "a high number of requests for assistance".

It found just one of those outlets was compliant with workplace laws.

Ombudsman Sandra Parker found a total of 86 staff had been underpaid across the 15 cafes, recovering $44,165 in lost wages.

She said underpayment and non-payment of penalty rates was the most common issue, but some staff had also been paid base rates below those they were entitled to.

"We uncovered issues with record-keeping at several Degani outlets that hindered our ability to determine exactly how much backpay the employees were owed," she said.

"Unfortunately, Degani's failure to meet basic workplace requirements is common throughout the hospitality industry."

The ombudsman issued 10 formal cautions, eight compliance notices and five on-the-spot fines to the 15 outlets involved.

There are more than 80 franchised Degani cafes, restaurants and kiosks around Australia.

In February, Fair Work launched court action against a Degani outlet in Greensborough, in Melbourne's north, for allegedly using false records to conceal more than $12,000 in underpayments to workers.

In November last year an outlet in Mornington, south of Melbourne, was found to have underpaid staff almost $10,000.

The ombudsman has also launched investigations into some of Melbourne's most high-profile eateries in recent months over accusations they have underpaid staff, and the issue of wage theft has become a topic of widespread discussion amongst industry leaders.

In May, the ABC obtained documents that appeared to show widespread and systemic underpayment of staff at a different restaurant owned by the founder of the Degani cafe chain, George Pezaros.

The ombudsman did not make any reference to Mr Pezaros in her findings about the Degani outlets, or imply he had any involvement in the underpayments.