A new education and compliance campaign launched by The Fair Work Ombudsman will target up to 120 cafes, restaurants and takeaway food outlets in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory over the next four months.

Fair Work inspectors will audit 50 employers in Adelaide’s Gouger and Rundle streets and at North Adelaide, a further 50 in the Perth CBD and Perth’s southern suburbs and an additional 20 businesses located in food courts throughout Darwin.

Inspectors will check that workers are being paid their full entitlements, including minimum pay rates and penalty rates.

The audits also aim to ensure that employers are adhering to minimum engagement periods and complying with record-keeping and pay slip obligations.

Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Bill Loizides says the sector is receiving attention because it consistently provides a high level of complaints and employs a large number of vulnerable workers, including juniors, casuals and foreign workers.

Mr Loizides said, “This campaign is an opportunity for employers in the hospitality industry to ensure they understand their obligations under workplace laws and are complying with them.

“If inspectors find minor or inadvertent contraventions, our preferred approach is to educate the employer and assist them to voluntarily rectify the issue.

In 2010, as part of a local Fast Food Campaign, the Fair Work Ombudsman recovered a total of AU$13,400 for 53 South Australian workers.

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