Coffs Harbour drivers claim they were short-changed on their minimum hourly rates, overtime and public holiday work
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has begun legal proceedings against Sumerdeep Singh, the former operator-owner of a transport company based in the northern coast of News South Wales, for allegedly unpaying 12 truck drivers more than $143,000 between 2011 and 2014.
The Woolgoolga man who ran now-defunct company Sumer Bagri allegedly told the drivers that they would be paid flat hourly rates between $17 and $23 from Monday to Sunday.
However, the drivers claim that Singh used false records to short-change them on their agreed minimum hourly rates, casual loadings, and penalty rates for weekend, overtime and public holiday work.
At the time of the reported incident, Singh’s company was transporting groceries ordered online under a contract it had with Linfox Australia, which had been contracted by Woolworths.
The FWO office says the contract price paid by Woolworths to Linfox and the sub-contract price paid by Linfox to Sumer Bagri was sufficient for Singh’s company to pay minimum lawful entitlements.
Fair Work says it launched an inquiry and issued a Notice to Produce records to Singh after having received a request for assistance from one of the 12 drivers.
In response to the inquiry, Singh allegedly provided Fair Work inspectors with falsified timesheets that showed the drivers received higher pay rates from what was reportedly true.
The false records allegedly misstated the number of hours clocked by employees and also stated that Singh undertook driving duties during a period when he was in fact travelling overseas.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says a decision was made to commence litigation owing to the seriousness of the alleged contraventions.
Singh faces maximum penalties of between $3,400 and $10,200 per contravention.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is seeking a court order for any penalties imposed to be paid to the allegedly underpaid workers and a court order requiring Singh to complete the ‘Hiring Employees’ training course on the FWO website.
A penalty hearing is listed for Tuesday, April 12 in the Federal Circuit Court in Sydney.