Firm also ordered to back-pay remaining $12,003 owed to employees
A Queensland company and its director have been fined a total of $67,000 for breaches of workplace laws, including failing to pay three employees their full entitlements.
ABMENG Pty Ltd, a Sunshine Coast-based business that operated nationally, was fined $56,000 by the Federal Circuit and Family Court. Its sole director, Jay Parker, was penalised $11,000 for his involvement in the contraventions.
The penalties follow the company's failure to comply with a Compliance Notice issued by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO), which required ABMENG to calculate and back-pay wages owed to workers employed in Melbourne and Perth between March and July 2021. The company also ignored a Notice to Produce, which required it to provide records during the FWO's investigation.
Judge Allyson Ladhams described the company's actions as "serious" and "deliberate," adding that its refusal to cooperate "frustrated" the investigation process.
She noted that more than two years after the Compliance Notice was issued, ABMENG had still failed to repay 80% of the workers' entitlements.
"There is a need to ensure that recipients of statutory notices issued by regulators are aware that a failure to comply will not be tolerated," Ladhams said as quoted by the FWO.
She added that the penalties should deliver a "sting or burden" to deter other employers from similar conduct.
The court also ordered ABMENG to pay the outstanding $12,003 owed to the three employees, plus superannuation and interest.
The Fair Work Ombudsman's investigation revealed the workers were underpaid minimum wages under the Clerks Private Sector Award 2020, Miscellaneous Award 2020, and Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2020.
They were also not paid their accrued but unused annual leave entitlements when their employment ended, as required by the National Employment Standards.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth welcomed the penalties, highlighting their importance in holding businesses accountable.
"The substantial penalties in this case are welcomed against respondents who have failed to pay the majority of what the three workers were owed more than two years after the Compliance Notice was issued," she said in a statement.
"When Compliance Notices and Notices to Produce are not followed, we are prepared to take legal action to ensure we can fully investigate matters and ensure workers receive their lawful entitlements," Booth said.
This is not the first time that Parker has been convicted of workplace law breaches. In 2008, he and another company he directed were fined a combined $60,000 for underpaying workers by more than $14,000.