The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking legal action against the operators of two Chili’s restaurants for allegedly underpaying teenage staff.The litigation follows an extensive investigation into the Chili’s chain of restaurants which started in 2007. Chili’s (Shellharbour) Pty Ltd and Chili’s (Penrith) Pty Ltd will face the Federal Magistrates Court in Sydney. Court documents allege Chili’s (Shellharbour) Pty Ltd short-changed a 15-year-old part-time teenage girl $212 over... ...Read more »

The Fair Work Ombudsman is prosecuting the operator of a Darwin take-away food outlet for allegedly underpaying a young employee almost $25,000. The national pay protector has launched legal action Fortcrest Investments Pty Ltd, which owns and operates Lips Café at the Oasis Shopping Centre, Palmerston. Documents lodged in the Federal Magistrates Court in Darwin allege Fortcrest Investments underpaid a casual food service employee a total of $24,526 over five years to 2008 when she was aged between... ...Read more »

The Fair Work Ombudsman has recovered back-payments totalling $23,000 for eight food salespeople in Melbourne’s east and south-eastern suburbs over the past three months.Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director Michael Campbell reported that the casual salespeople – who no longer work for the operator of food outlets in the Monash and Glen Eira local government areas – were underpaid the minimum hourly rate as a result of the employer failing to pay them according to the applicable... ...Read more »

The federal workplace watchdog has launched a prosecution against the operators of a Melbourne food company, alleging they underpaid a delivery truck driver more than $32,000 over several years.The Fair Work Ombudsman is prosecuting Olara Pty Ltd and Exofun Pty Ltd, which have traded as Exclusive Food Houses in Moorabbin and been involved in importing and distributing specialist foods. The Agency is also prosecuting a director of both companies, Harry Friedman of North Caulfield, alleging he was... ...Read more »

More than 700 food services workers throughout Australia will be receive back pay totalling $470,000 following a national campaign to uphold their workplace rights by the Fair Work Ombudsman.The money – an average of $671 per employee – is being progressively reimbursed after the Ombudsman found they were underpaid. A six-month campaign targeted take-away food outlets, supermarkets, grocery stores, bread and cake shops, meat, fish and poultry distributors and dairy manufacturers. Of 481... ...Read more »

The federal workplace watchdog has launched a prosecution against a Newcastle bakery, alleging it failed to keep proper time-and-wages records for four former employees who claimed they had been underpaid.Under workplace law, employers must maintain time-and-wages records relating to employees and former employees and provide the records to workplace inspectors on request. In documents lodged in the Chief Industrial Magistrate’s Court in Sydney, the Fair Work Ombudsman alleges that Newcastle... ...Read more »

The operators of a Donut King store in Tasmania have been penalised almost $60,000 after admitting they pressured nine teenage workers to sign workplace agreements that reduced their penalty rates.Primrose Development Company Pty Ltd was fined $53,601.25 and company director and part-owner Judith Ann Simmonds, of Bellerive, was fined $6398.75 in the Federal Magistrates Court. Primrose has now paid $2490 compensation to the teenage workers. The company also admitted breaching workplace law by failing... ...Read more »

A young Hobart restaurant worker who believed she was being underpaid has triggered a review of the entitlements of more than 220 of her co-workers.While the 22-year-old will be reimbursed almost $70, another 129 staffers will also be back-paid a total of more than $22,000. The underpayments came to light after the restaurant agreed to do an internal audit following the young woman’s initial complaint to the Fair Work Ombudsman. Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director Michael Campbell said the... ...Read more »

The operators of a former Melbourne restaurant which paid a full-time cook less than $10,000 for 18 months’ work have been fined more than $180,000.The Federal Workplace Ombudsman prosecuted businessman Poh Meng Hong for underpaying staff at his former Malaysian restaurant at Box Hill. In the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday, Magistrate Kate Hawkins imposed a $158,400 penalty against Penang Kayu Nasi Kander Pty Ltd, which formerly traded as Kayu@Boxhill. The Court also handed down a $25,000... ...Read more »

A fast-food franchise in Perth’s CBD has been forced to back-pay many of its teenage workers $50,000 following investigations by the Federal Workplace Ombudsman. Workplace Ombudsman Western Australian Director Leigh Quealy advised that, after checking employment records, inspectors discovered 33 young staff had been short-changed an average $1500 each. He says his office is now considering legal action against the franchise, part of a national take-away food chain. Mr Quealy revealed the underpayments... ...Read more »