Recent media articles have shown the spot light on dodgy operators within the hospitality industry underpaying workers.
One such
article in The Age Victoria on 19
January 2016 alleges that a certain renowned Melbourne restaurant was paying
its employees as much as $11.00 per hour and short-changed 6 foreign workers a
total of $87,349.00 at a Sydney restaurant.
The owners of
the restaurant now face significant penalties and public embarrassment.
Sadly, this appears
to be a common occurrence.
On 25 June 2015
it was reported in Hospitality Magazine
that the Fair Work Ombudsman found 456 businesses short-changed 2,752 workers
over $1.215 million.
The award rate
for an introductory full-time or part-time adult hospitality worker is
currently $17.29 per hour.
This issue is
not unique to the hospitality industry with many other workers in various
industries being affected. For example, some may recall the media attention
that 7-Eleven received toward the end of 2015 following the Fair Work
Ombudsman’s investigation which found systemic underpayment of wages together
with false-records. More recently, the Sydney Morning Herald reported a story
about alleged underpaying of employees of a private school in Sydney.
The Fair Work
Ombudsman publishes pay guides that detail the minimum pay rates for full-time,
part-time and casual employees in an award. In addition, the guides include the
monetary allowances and the most frequently used penalty rates for each award
class. See https://www.fairwork.gov.au/pay/minimum-wages/pay-guides#H.
Whether you are
an employee or employer, it may be the case that there is a specific award rate
that you are entitled to receive or required to pay by law.
If you need
advice on whether you are being underpaid or are underpaying your employees,
contact Kim Glassborow, Principal Lawyer at G&B Lawyers on M: 0481 287 528
or Katherine Edwards, Lawyer on M: 0401 175 934.
G&B Lawyers
Office: Suite 1, Level 1, 229 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Mail: GPO Box 1849, Sydney, NSW 2001
M: 0481 287 528 | 0401 175 934
W: www.gandblawyers.com.au
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