Childcare operator fails to pay any wages for an entire year
A childcare operator failed to pay two workers any wages for an entire year.
Instead, the employer told the women they needed to complete a dodgy unpaid vocational work experience scheme.
Childcare operator fails to pay any wages
Jan Shang owns and operates ‘Joys Child Care’ centre in Parramatta in Sydney.
He is facing the Federal Circuit Court, accused of failing to pay the two workers a total of $54,752 in wages, public holiday and annual leave entitlements.
Both women are from China and worked at the centre from February 2016 until February 2017 performing general childcare duties.
Shang allegedly told the women they needed to complete the unpaid work experience as part of a Diploma of Early Childhood Education.
In return for the work, he allegedly offered to pay their enrolment fee at a training institute.
Vocational placements
Industrial advocate Miles Heffernan said unpaid vocational placements must be a requirement of a tertiary course.
“Some qualifications require practical placements, for example, nursing or teaching,” he said.
“But these placements must be a requirement to compete the course and must also be approved by the training institution.
“The fact that this greedy boss has allegedly strung these women along for a full year of unpaid work is absolutely outrageous.
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Women performed productive work
The Fair Work Ombudsman argues the two workers performed productive work for Joys Child Care under little or no supervision.
Therefore, they qualify as employees of the company and not undertaking a vocational placement.
Shang allegedly engaged one of the women as a full-time employee and therefore she is entitled to be paid $35,062.
He allegedly engaged the other on a part-time basis and therefore she is entitled to $19,690.
Compliance Notices
Fair Work inspectors issued Shang with Compliance Notices in November, requiring him to back-pay the workers, however, he failed to do so.
He is now facing a maximum penalty of $6,300 and his company a maximum of $31,500 as a result.
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