Victoria employers found to have underpaid staff total of $321,202 over two years
The operators of a hotel and café in regional Victoria have been penalised a total of $104,000 after deliberately underpaying nearly 100 employees more than $320,000 over two years.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court imposed a $95,000 penalty on Louise Maree Melotte and a $9,000 penalty on her husband, Travis Francis Melotte, who run Hotel Frangos and Café Koukla in Daylesford.
Ms Melotte admitted to underpaying 97 workers at the businesses between May 2017 and July 2019, with the total underpayment amounting to $321,202.
Judge Heather Riley, who oversaw the case, noted that the underpayments were deliberate and occurred over an extended period.
"Ms Melotte has had the benefit of the $321,202 for many years. It has no doubt improved her lifestyle at the expense of the affected employees," Riley said.
Although the pair both admitted their involvement in the underpayments, Riley also pointed out that their admissions were not made at the earliest opportunity. The judge further noted that the couple were "not particularly remorseful."
According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, the underpaid workers included young staff, some of whom were visa holders from countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, and Armenia.
The underpayment affected food and beverage attendants, cooks, guest services staff, and clerical workers, with 15 of those workers aged between 15 and 20.
The FWO said 27 full-time employees were paid fixed salaries regardless of the hours they worked, which led to violations of the Hospitality Industry (General) Award 2010. Four of these workers were underpaid by over $20,000.
The case also involved two Nepalese cooks who were underpaid a total of $81,331 for working excessive hours.
The cooks, who were on Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme visas, were required to work an average of 50 hours a week, with one cook working 74 hours in a single week.
Despite working long hours, both cooks' hourly pay dropped to exploitative levels, with one earning as little as $12 per hour in some weeks.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth expressed concern over the exploitation of vulnerable workers, including young and migrant employees.
"It is unacceptable that nearly 100 workers were deliberately underpaid. That young and migrant workers were some of those left out of pocket is also concerning, particularly the exploitation of the two cooks who were requested or required to work unreasonable long hours," Booth said in a statement.
"We treat cases involving underpayment of visa holders and young workers particularly seriously and continue to prioritise matters involving such vulnerable workers."
In addition to the penalties, the court ordered Ms Melotte to back-pay all underpaid workers, including superannuation.
