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The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) is investigating the P’Nut Street Noodles chain, alleging workers across Australia have been underpaid almost $1 million in total.
Sabcha, which employed workers at food chain P’Nut Street Noodles – with 11 stores across Sydney, Brisbane, and the Sunshine Coast – faces the Federal Circuit and Family Court on allegations of massive underpayments.
Along with the company’s sole director, Ankur Sehgal, Sabcha is facing allegations from the FWO that it underpaid 118 workers a total of $976,463, with the alleged individual underpayments ranging from $70 right through to $79,000.
Alarming findings intertwined with the FWO’s allegations are that a large majority of the reported staff affected were migrant workers operating on sponsored work, student and other visas from countries such as Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia.
Migrant workers are often vulnerable to exploitation mirroring these allegations, with Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth describing this behaviour and treatment as “unacceptable”.
“We are committed to using all powers at our disposal to protect vulnerable workers in this country and to ensure that employers who deliberately or systematically breach the law face significant consequences,” Booth said.
The FWO claims that the alleged primary cause of the underpayments was the company paying staff unlawfully low flat rates, resulting in underpayment of minimum wage, penalty, and overtime rates. On top of that, the company also allegedly breached record-keeping and pay slip obligations under the Fair Work Act – providing false or misleading wage records to investigators.
These allegations fall under serious contraventions, according to the FWO, which attract a strong increase in available maximum penalties.
It was further alleged that Sehgal – the sole director – was directly involved in these serious contraventions, including the record-keeping breaches.
“The alleged scale of underpayment across the P’Nut Street Noodles chain was concerning.
“Record keeping is a bedrock obligation for any employer. We allege Sabcha failed to provide both its employees and our inspectors the accurate pay slips the law demands, instead providing false or misleading records,” Booth said.
In terms of the time frame, the underpayments allegedly occurred between April 2019 and May 2021, with the majority ($632,592) taking place in Sydney, where the company had seven stores.
The FWO is reportedly seeking penalties in court of up to $666,000 per breach for the serious contraventions, whereas the other contraventions draw up to $66,600 per breach for the company. Sehgal himself faces penalties of up to $13,320 per breach.
The regulator is seeking an order to ensure the company back pays all workers in full, including interest and superannuation. A hearing is listed in Sydney on 28 April 2025.
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.
