Melbourne clothing store operator in court for ignoring Compliance Notice
A Melbourne clothing store operator is in court for ignoring a Compliance Notice.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against Zurel Pty Ltd, the operator of a clothing store trading as ‘316 Melbourne’.
Also facing court is the company’s director, Mr Ban Teik Chee.
Melbourne clothing store operator in court
The regulator alleges Chee ignored a Compliance Notice requiring him to calculate and back-pay a casual retail employee.
Fair Work also accuses Chee of breaching record-keeping and pay slip laws.
Clothing store accused of ignoring Compliance Notices
Fair Work commenced an investigation into ‘316 Melbourne’ last year following a wage theft complaint from the worker.
The employee, aged in her early 20s, is a visa holder.
Inspectors formed a belief that the employee had been:
- underpaid her minimum hourly wage;
- casual loading; in addition to
- penalty rates for weekend, public holiday and evening work under the General Retail Industry Award 2010.
The penalties
Fair Work is therefore seeking penalties against Zurel and Chee.
The company faces maximum penalties for the wage theft of $31,500, while Chee faces maximum penalties of $6,300.
For the alleged record keeping breaches, the company faces maximum penalties of $63,000 , while Chee faces a maximum penalty of $12,600.
The regulator is also seeking an order requiring the company to calculate any underpayments and rectify them in full, plus interest.
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Fair Work needs to enforce laws
Industrial advocate Miles Heffernan from WAGETHEFT.net.au said he is encouraged by the legal action.
“The Ombudsman’s job is to enforce workplace laws, so it is good to see it following up on these alleged breaches and prosecuting dodgy bosses,” he said.
Mr Heffernan once again called on federal and state governments to introduce criminal penalties for wage theft.
“Until we start locking up dodgy bosses, they will continue to steal their worker’s wages with impunity,” he said.
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