A former Melbourne fruit market owner and his company have been hit with record penalties of more than $660,000 after "arrogantly" ignoring FWO warnings about underpaying a vulnerable Afghan refugee.
Fast food giant Pizza Hut has underpaid some of its delivery drivers, offering as little as $5.70 per delivery, with 92% of franchisees audited by the FWO failing to meet their legal obligations to employees, a report by the regulator has found.
The FWO has used accessorial liability provisions to secure substantial penalties across the chain of command of a frozen yoghurt franchise responsible for underpaying four overseas workers.
A university study of international students' employment conditions in food services shows they are receiving as little as $8 an hour and a median of $17, well below the award rate of about $21.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has warned accessorial liability for workplace breaches is now being extended beyond employers and company directors to those working in human resources, management and recruitment.
A contractor "knowingly involved" in underpaying vulnerable supermarket trolley collectors and a subcontractor who "deliberately" produced false payment records and underpaid employees have been fined more than $90,000 by the Federal Court.
A court has ordered a 7-Eleven franchisee to pay a $150,000 penalty for deliberately underpaying employees and using a "reverse calculation" regime to cover its tracks.
A court has levied a fine of more than $270,000 on a company that made an employee work 180 unpaid hours as an intern, and has also imposed a $8160 fine and three-year injunction on its director, who was already bound by an enforceable undertaking.
