skip to Main Content
Surprise Raids Recover $331,000 In Stolen Wages For 725 Workers

Surprise raids recover $331,000 in stolen wages for 725 workers

Surprise raids by the Fair Work Ombudsman on hundreds of businesses in Albury-Wodonga, Woollongong and Ballarat have resulted in $331,386 in wages being recovered for 725 underpaid workers.

The workplace watchdog said it targeted businesses in areas where there are high populations of university students, and where it had received a high number of anonymous complaints from workers about wage theft.

Almost half not paying proper wages

In total, 489 businesses were audited by Fair Work inspectors, including cafes and restaurants, pubs and bars, fast food outlets and retail businesses.

Almost half – 47 per cent – were found to be in breach of workplace laws – the most common being the underpayment of wages – by either not paying employees the legal minimum hourly rate or not paying correct penalty rates.

In addition, many businesses were found to not be issuing pay slips as they are required to by law, while others failed to keep proper records.

Ballarat was one of the towns targeted by Fair Work inspectors.

Most of wage theft in hospitality 

Over half – 55 per cent – of the total money recovered during the raids came from hospitality businesses, with 67 employers back paying 573 employees a total of $181,557.

Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker said the findings showed that young workers are vulnerable to being exploited by greedy or incompetent bosses.

“Like many workers in the hospitality industry, young workers in these regions were potentially vulnerable due to their age, visa status and reliance on local jobs to support themselves,” Ms Parker said.

“Australia’s minimum pay rates are not negotiable, and employers in the fast food, restaurant and café sector need to actively check that they are paying their staff correctly before we visit their business.

“We are committed to improving workplace compliance in the hospitality industry, and we have a range of free tools to help both employers and workers,” Ms Parker said.

Sandra Parker – Fair Work Ombudsman.

Raids welcomed by Fair Work Act Claims

Industrial relations consultant Jeremy Walton from Fair Work Act Claims welcomed the action by the workplace watchdog.

“For far too long the Fair Work Ombudsman has been too focused on education instead of enforcement, so it’s good to see the regulator getting out there and doing some enforcement – and making sure employers know they have to comply with workplace laws,” he said.

“The high number of workers it found who had been ripped off is disturbing, and just goes to show that wage theft is a huge problem in this country that needs a much greater commitment from government to fix.

“Unfortunately for workers, with the re-election of the Coalition government, which has shown little interest in tackling wage theft, we are unlikely to see much change for the next three years, so workers will remain vulnerable to exploitation from unscrupulous bosses.”

As a result of the raids, the Ombudsman said that it issued 35 formal cautions, 37 Infringement Notices (on-the-spot fines) and nine Compliance Notices.

RELATED STORY:


If you have not been paid your proper wages and entitlements, or if you are considering legal action to recover stolen wages, we can help.

For professional advice, please call our specialist team at Fair Work Act Claims on

1300 359 516

To connect with us, please follow us on:

 


Fair Work Act Claims is a private consultancy and advocacy firm and has no affiliation with any government agency or tribunal.

This Post Has 0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Get in touch with us

    First Name (required)

    Last Name (required)

    Organization

    Your Email (required)

    Mobile Phone (required)

    Your State

    Client Type (required)

    Matter Type (required)

    Tell us some more about your issue

    Back To Top