A total of $217,806 has been recovered by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) for 209 food outlet employees who were underpaid by their employers in Cairns, Queensland.
In a statement, the FWO said it issued 23 Compliance Notices against employers who breached workplace laws to recover the total owed amount.
The largest amount recovered from one of the businesses involved was $46,576, which was meant for six restaurant employees who were underpaid penalty rates, had outdated rates of pay, and missed out on overtime pay.
Meanwhile, it also issued 11 Infringement Notices for pay slip and record-keeping breaches that resulted in $12,895 in fines paid.
Surprise inspection in Cairns
The recovery follows the surprise inspection carried out by Fair Work Inspectors in the fast food, restaurant, and cafés sector in Cairns City, Cairns North, Palm Cove, and Trinity Beach.
A total of 35 businesses were probed, with 31 investigations finalised and four still under investigation. According to the FWO, a total of 23 out of 31 businesses probed had breached workplace laws.
The most common breach was the failure to pay various penalty rates (21 businesses), followed by underpaying minimum wages (11 businesses), and not paying the right allowances (nine business).
These disappointing Cairns findings are part of a national food precincts program where we've often found that low-cost dining comes at the expense of workers' lawful wages, said Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth in a statement.
Employers must follow all wage laws, including penalty rates which generally serve as compensation for those working at times when most people are not. Those doing the wrong thing are being found out and held to account.
The recovery in Cairns comes after the FWO also recovered $58,391 for 121 underpaid food outlet employees in Melbourne.
https://www.hcamag.com/au/specialisation/employment-law/fwo-recovers-over-217000-for-underpaid-food-outlet-employees/500742
