Employer showed 'disregard for obligations,' court says
The former operators of a greengrocer in Melbourne were slapped with penalties totalling $7,992 for failing to act on a Compliance Notice from a Fair Work Inspector.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court handed a $6,660 penalty to Nilkanth Enterprise, and a $1,332 penalty to its owner and sole director, Ashvinkumar Mavjibhai Chavan, for his involvement in the contravention.
The notice ordered Nilkanth Enterprise, which operated "Strawberry Point" in Forest Hill, to calculate and back-pay entitlements that it owed a casual retail assistant it hired from May 2021 to May 2022.
Judge Janine Young said Nilkanth Enterprise and Chavan demonstrated a "disregard for their obligations," stressing the need to impose penalties to prevent similar contraventions in the future.
"There is a need for general deterrence in this matter, to emphasise the importance of an effective compliance framework and at a sufficient level to impress upon other employers the importance of complying with the legal obligations owed to their employees," Young said in a statement.
Compliance Notice issued
The Compliance Notice was issued after the Fair Work Inspector believed that the casual retail assistant, who was an international student from India, was underpaid the casual minimum wage and weekend penalty rates under the General Retail Industry Award 2020.
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the employer only back-paid the retail assistant a total of $5,474 after they launched legal action.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth reminded operators that they can face penalties on top of back-pay orders if they fail to act on Compliance Notices.
"When Compliance Notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action to protect employees. Employers who fail to act on these notices risk penalties and back-pay orders," Booth said in a statement.
