A recent investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman has found that the operator of a Nando’s restaurant in Canberra underpaid 13 young, casual workers thousands of dollars.
The workers were aged between 16 and 25 and were paid a flat rate of $18 with no allowances for work completed on weekends and public holidays. The employees were underpaid for work performed between July 1, 2014 and June 30 last year at Nando’s Canberra City which is operated by C & JT Pty Ltd.
Total underpayments equated to almost $27,500 with individual underpayments ranging from $36 to $4,791. The underpayments were identified when Fair Work inspectors audited the business as part of a pro-active education and compliance campaign in the ACT.
Under the Restaurant Industry Award, the young workers should have been paid at least $17.35 for a Level 1 adult for ordinary hours worked, and up to $26.03 on weekends and $43.38 on public holidays.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James says the employer demonstrated a willingness to make changes to its workplace practices to ensure future compliance and has since signed an Enforceable Undertaking that requires the business to:
- Back-pay all outstanding wages and entitlements
- Issue an apology for the conduct to the affected employees
- Register with the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Online tool My Account
- Commit to future compliance with federal workplace laws
- Appoint an external professional to audit the business’s compliance with workplace laws for the next three years.