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 director who appears to be operating a "phoenix" labour hire company and his former HR manager have been penalised $25,000 for their knowing involvement in unlawfully deducting $130,000 from the wages of 102 Crown Casino and Federation Square cleaners and providing false records to the FWO.
Information Commissioner Timothy Pilgrim has fined Comcare $3,000 for breaching an injured public servant's privacy when it improperly shared details of his work-related injury.
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.
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 Turnbull Coalition Government, if returned at the July 2 election, will amend the Fair Work Act to make franchisors and parent entities responsible for their franchisees' and subsidiaries' exploitation of vulnerable workers, while increasing penalties tenfold for employers that underpay such workers and fail to keep proper records.
FWC's interest-based dispute resolution approach reaches new stage; Shorten Government would intervene in penalties case; Visa cases now the lion's share of FWO prosecutions; Budget Estimates hearings brought forward; Labor bid to disallow regulation postponed to Wednesday; and Slaters wins new finance deal.
Law firm Maurice Blackburn is calling for tougher laws to force franchises to take responsibility for their franchisees' employment practices, as it pursues three underpayment claims totalling $1 million via the Fels 7-Eleven Wage Fairness Panel, which has now secured payouts of $11 million.
