Hospitality workers at a Melbourne strip club have been reimbursed a total of $12,600 following an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The 22 employees who were hired on a casual basis to serve food and drinks at the adult entertainment venue were paid flat hourly rates of between $23.50 and $23.85. Fair Work states that while these figures are above the standard $21.31 required under the Hospitality Industry Award, it was not enough to cover applicable penalty rates.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said that the business made an incorrect assumption that paying staff an annual salary on a pro-rate basis would be sufficient to cover their penalty rate entitlements.
According to Fair Work casual employees should have been paid $25.58 per hour for work on Saturdays, $29.84 on Sundays and $48.65 on public holidays.
Fair Work randomly audited the business as part of a recent proactive hospitality campaign. In addition to back-paying the 22 employees, the club has also been asked to review its wage records for the past 12 months to ensure no other current or former employees have been underpaid.
