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More than $100,000 in penalties and back-pay orders has been secured by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) against the operators of a Darwin supermarket.
Om Shiva Foods, trading as Wulagi Supermarket, was forced to face the music in the Federal Circuit and Family Court, which imposed a $39,960 penalty against the company and a $7,992 penalty against the company’s sole director, Vinay Madasu, for breaches against a migrant worker.
These penalties were imposed off the back of Om Shiva Foods failing to comply with a compliance notice, which required them to calculate and back pay entitlements owing to a casual retail assistant. This employee, who was an Indian national in Australia on a temporary graduate visa, was employed with the company between February 2020 and August 2021.
The compliance notice was also for the company’s failure to issue the worker pay slips. Madasu, the company’s director, was directly involved in these contraventions.
In addition to imposing the penalties, the court has ordered Om Shiva Foods to fully rectify the $68,970 underpayment of the employee. This underpayment has only been partially rectified at this point.
“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 substantial penalties and back-pay orders,” said Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth.
“The underpayment of the worker in this case was significant – more than $68,000 across 18 months – and it is disappointing that we have had to litigate to secure orders for the full back pay.”
The FWO was alerted to the contraventions by the affected worker.
Judge Anastasis Liveris, who oversaw the case in the Federal Circuit and Family Court, considered “the circumstances of this matter to be serious” and found that for the case to deter future contraventions, the penalties had to be enforced.
“In my view, there is a need for general deterrence and a need to ensure that there is compliance with minimum standards by the provision of an effective means for investigation and enforcement of employee entitlements and loss.
“There is a need for small businesses in the supermarket and grocery industry to appreciate the seriousness of their obligations to comply with compliance notices and their record-keeping obligations,” said Judge Liveris.
Kace O'Neill
Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.
