Fair Work: One in five businesses busted for wage theft   



May 24, 2019
MacroBusiness


More than one in five businesses audited by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) across three states have been found to have underpaid workers, with employers forced to backpay over $580,000 to nearly 1000 employees. From The Australian. 

    Fair Work inspectors found widespread noncompliance with workplace laws after auditing 1385 businesses in regional Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

    Accommodation, hospitality and retail sectors were a focus of the investigation.

    Inspectors found 22 per cent of audited business failed to pay their employees correctly, 15 per cent were in breach of non-monetary obligations by not providing proper pay slips or keeping proper employment records, and six per cent failed to pay their employees correctly and meet their non-monetary obligations.   

    The most common breach of workplace laws was the underpayment of the minimum hourly rate, with inspectors also uncovering underpayment of overtime and penalty rates. The ombudsman recovered an average of about $600 per underpaid employee…

In 2017, the FWO revealed that migrant workers were involved in more than three-quarters of legal cases initiated by the FWO against unscrupulous employers. Whereas last year it was revealed that nearly three-quarters of businesses in the hospitality industry audited by the FWO across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane had breached workplace laws.

Thus, the wage theft issue is embedded most deeply in the migrant community. This is part cultural but also structural. Given many migrant workers are vulnerable while they are looking to rack up their years to apply for permanent residency, they are not going to report being underpaid. This is most poignant in those business models in which labour has become a profit centre because workers are effectively paying bosses to sponsor their visas.

Policy makers know the problems, but refuse to take concrete action. Wage theft and low wages growth are a feature not bug of the immigration-led economy.   

Melbourne cafe underpaid staff almost $38,000   

May 22, 2019
Sydney Morning Herald


The operator of Super Max Coffee Pty Ltd, trading as Mitte Café in Fitzroy North, has committed to complying with workplace laws after the Fair Work Ombudsman found it had underpaid 32 staff a total of $37,520.

Fair Work Inspectors found the company failed to pay workers minimum casual loadings,
overtime rates and penalty rates for weekends and public holidays under the Restaurant Industry
Award.   


A Melbourne cafe operator has entered into an enforceable undertaking to comply with fair work laws after the Fair Work Ombudsman found it had allegedly underpaid its workers.

The casual employees worked in customer service, as cooks and kitchen attendants when they were allegedly underpayed between July 2017 and June last year. Twelve workers were aged under 26.

The Fair Work Ombudsman said a 21-year-old worker was underpaid $3582 after being paid hourly rates of $23 on weekends when entitled to $28.22, and $31.50 on public holidays despite being owed $47.03.   


Under an enforceable undertaking between the FWO and Super Max Coffee, the company has agreed to rectify underpayments and make a donation of $2000 to the Commonwealth Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The company is also required to complete two audits of the pay and conditions of all employees in 2019 and 2020, rectify any underpayments found, commission workplace relations training for managers and demonstrate how it is complying with the Fair Work Act.

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said current and future employees of Mitte Café would have their rights protected through the enforceable undertaking, which included a requirement that the employer would provide a signed declaration every six months for two years that employees
were receiving their lawful wages and superannuation entitlements.

“Fair Work inspectors will continue to conduct targeted audits of businesses in the fast food,
restaurant and café sector to improve compliance," Ms Parker said.

The company has also been required to send an apology letter to all underpaid workers, display a
workplace notice outlining the breaches, and publish the notice on its Facebook page.   

Dnarever wrote on May 25^th, 2019 at 8:09am:


Only 20% have been caught.

The real figure would be closer to 50%.

And, when they do accidentally overpay a worker, many employers break the law by taking it back directly out of the employee's wages.

Unauthorised deductions from your pay are illegal.

The employer has the right to get their money back, but they cannot just simply take it from the employee's wages without consultation.

Moreover, the employee is entitled to pay it back in installments.

e.g, $10 per week.

greggerypeccary wrote on May 25^th, 2019 at 11:20am:


....so income tax is illegal

Swagman wrote on May 26^th, 2019 at 8:16am:


No.

See the highlighted word above.

Income tax deductions are authorised by the employee.

When you start a new job, you give the employer your tax file number and sign an authorisation for them to deduct tax on your behalf.

greggerypeccary wrote on May 25^th, 2019 at 11:20am:


Yes.

One year many years ago, all of our payslips one week had a little note at the bottom saying "We've deducted $5 from your pay this week to pay for a present for the manager's birthday".

Never happened again after that one time - after it was politely pointed out to management that it was illegal.

Of course, most of us never had a problem giving a few dollars for a present if someone was going around asking with a collection tin or whatever.

Bam wrote on May 26^th, 2019 at 1:56pm:


.....nah Ive got 3 more years respite from Labor and 4 in NSW .......as good as it gets 

tsk tsk. Even as bad as the union parasites forcing businesses to close down and leave Australia.