More than $162,000 in fines also paid due to non-compliance
The Fair Work Ombudsman has recovered almost $450,000 for hundreds of underpaid food outlet employees following surprise inspections in "cheap eats" venues in Brisbane.
The FWO said it recovered a total of $447,339 for 365 employees after it issued 39 Compliance Notices.
The biggest amount recovered was almost $80,000 for 27 restaurant employees, including nine visa holders, who were underpaid their minimum rates, weekend penalties, public holiday entitlements, split shift allowances, and annual and personal leave accruals.
"These disappointing findings in Brisbane are part of a national Food Precincts Programme where we've often found that low-cost dining comes at the expense of workers' lawful wages," said Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth in a statement.
The Compliance Notices come after Fair Work inspectors investigated 51 fast food outlets, where it discovered that 44 were non-compliant with workplace laws.
The most common breach was failure to pay penalty rates (32 businesses). Other violations include underpaying minimum wages for ordinary hours (24 businesses) and record-keeping (21 businesses).
According to the FWO, it issued a total of 43 Infringement Notices to businesses for pay slip and record-keeping breaches, which led to a $162,045 in fines paid.
"Employers must follow all wage laws, including penalty rates, which generally serve as compensation for those working at times when most people are not. Those doing the wrong thing are being found out and held to account," Booth said.
"Record-keeping and accurate pay slips are the bedrock of compliance and some employers have paid the price – part of more than $162,000 in fines – for failing to follow those laws."
The FWO said it has recovered more than $1.2 million in wages for Brisbane food workers following this inspection, and the investigations in the city's south.
Other audits carried out by the FWO saw more than $404,000 also recovered for 623 underpaid workers, over $309,000 for 369 workers, and almost $65,000 for 180 underpaid workers.
Overall, the FWO has recovered $5.6 million for more than 3,000 underpaid fast-food outlet, restaurant, and cafe workers nationally in 2023-24.
