Brisbane security company penalised for ignoring Compliance Notice
A Brisbane security company has been penalised $8,505 for ignoring a Fair Work Compliance Notice.
The Federal Circuit Court penalised ASGBRIS Pty Ltd $7,087.
Additionally, it penalised the company’s sole director Stephen Ward $1,417 for breaching workplace laws.
Brisbane security company penalised for ignoring order
In April 2019, Fair Work commenced an investigation into ASGBRIS after receiving a complaint from a worker.
Consequently, the regulator issued a Compliance Notice after an inspector concluded the company underpaid the worker.
Specifically, the inspector believed ASGBRIS had failed to pay the employee:
- overtime,
- personal leave,
- accrued annual leave on termination,
- annual leave loading,
- and payment in lieu of notice of termination.
The Compliance Notice required ASGBRIS to calculate the wages and entitlements owed to the employee and back-pay her by 20 August 2019.
However, ASGBRIS did not comply with the Compliance Notice.
Furthermore, Ward insisted the worker should have received trainee wages.
This is despite the fact she did not receive a formal training contract and did not receive trainee wages during her employment.
Compliance Notices are not discretionary
Industrial advocate Miles Heffernan from WAGETHEFT.net.au says Compliance Notices are not discretionary.
“Compliance Notices are a chance for an employer to rectify any underpayments, whether deliberate or accidental,” he said.
“They are not optional – if you fail to comply, you will find yourself in court and facing penalties, which is what happened in this case.”
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Ombudsman says Notices are an ‘important tool’
Meanwhile, Fair Work Ombudsman Sandra Parker says the outcome reinforced the importance of Compliance Notices to help workers recover unpaid wages.
“Compliance Notices are an important tool we use to get unpaid wages back into workers’ pockets.
“Businesses are on notice that if they don’t comply with Compliance Notices, they can expect court action.
As a result of the legal action, ASGBRIS took the action required by the Compliance Notice, including back-paying the worker $3,610.
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