Court imposes hefty fine against Melbourne business for underpaying driver, saying employers must make sure they are paying staff correctly
December 3, 2013
A Melbourne food distributor has been fined almost $130,000 for underpaying a truck driver.
Asian food supplier Lay Brothers was hit with a hefty fine when the Fair Work Ombudsman uncovered $124,816 owed to the driver.
The Dandenong company, which imports and distributes grocery products, was fined $128,700 in the Federal Circuit Court yesterday.
Chang Chong Lai, an immigrant from East Timor aged in his 40s who speaks English as a second language, lodged a complaint with the Fair Work Ombudsman when dismissed from the company in 2011.
He was being paid flat hourly rates of $10 to $11.50 between 2007 and 2011 despite working more than 60 hours a week, including weekends.
He was entitled to at least $14 to $16 for normal work hours and more than $20 an hour for overtime on weekends.
Withholding such a large amount of pay from a vulnerable employee was a serious offence, Judge Frank Turner says.
“(The employee) was a cousin of the respondent’s managing director – he was entitled to trust him – that trust was breached to a very serious extent,” Turner says.
“There is no proof that the underpayments were deliberate but at best they must have resulted from a failure by the respondent to enquire about the correct entitlements, therefore they resulted from negligence.
“Ignorance of the law is no excuse. An employer must ascertain the correct entitlements and accord them.”
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says the court’s decision sends a message that underpayments of vulnerable employees will not be tolerated.
“We will not hesitate to take action to protect the workplace entitlements of vulnerable workers in the community,” James says.
“Successful prosecutions such as this also benefit employers who are complying with workplace laws because it helps them to compete on a level playing field.”
