In a lucrative Christmas/New Year period for the Commonwealth's coffers, the Federal Circuit Court has handed down penalties amounting to more than $580,000 in eight separate cases brought by the Fair Work Ombudsman against companies and their directors for breaches of the Fair Work Act.
The Federal Court has fined a company almost $200,000 for underpaying its aged care workers more than $2.5m over a five year period, finding that its unlawful employment practices might have given it an unfair competitive advantage.
The Federal Circuit Court has found the sole director of a delicatessen/cafe accessorily liable in an underpayment case spanning more than 30 years and four periods of industrial law.
The Federal Court has found that shifting seasonal workers to a new employer after they'd worked 40 hours a week was a "sham" arrangement to avoid paying overtime.
