MARCH 11, 2020
The Australian
Almost 300 businesses have been caught out underpaying 1736 workers a combined $1.326 million but not one of the law-breaking employers has been taken to court.
A nationwide audit of 1217 businesses by the Fair Work Ombudsman found 583 employers failed to comply with workplace laws, including 406 firms that either were not paying their employees properly or breaching their monetary or non-monetary obligations.
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said $1,326,125 was recovered from 296 businesses for 1736 employees.
Fair Work inspectors issued 24 on-the-spot fines totalling $32,980 in penalties, 457 contravention letters, 56 formal cautions, and 47 compliance notices.
An enforceable undertaking was struck with Super Max Coffee, trading as Mitte Café, which resulted in the business backpaying $37,520 to 32 employees.
Eight employers remain under investigation for “serious non-compliance”.
“The FWO is considering appropriate compliance and enforcement responses in these matters, which may see us commence legal proceedings seeking the imposition of significant penalties on the businesses and individuals involved,” the agency said.
Hospitality, including fast food, restaurants and cafes, was the least compliant industry, with 61 per cent of 272 audited businesses found to be non-compliant.
Retail trade, administration and support services, manufacturing, domestic construction, and public administration and safety were also audited with non-compliance rates ranging from 33 per cent to 47 per cent.
The most common breaches were underpayment of the minimum hourly rate (28 per cent), non-compliance with pay slip obligations (23 per cent), and non-payment of weekend penalty rates (8 per cent).
Reasons given by employers for non-compliance included claiming to be unaware of workplace legal obligations (74 per cent), misinterpreting award requirements (8 per cent), paying flat hourly rates in lieu of weekend penalties (5 per cent), and not paying the annual minimum wage rise (4 per cent).
Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the audit results were “a wakeup call to employers that they need to prioritise workplace law compliance”.
“Nearly three quarters of employers that breached the law said they weren’t aware of the rules, which is not an excuse,” she said.
“Businesses are failing the basic requirements of being a responsible employer if they are not carrying out adequate due diligence before hiring.”
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