The operators of a chain of fast food sandwich outlets in Sydney have been penalised more than $87,000 for exploiting overseas workers and using false records.
Sydney man Jae Kwang Kim, who owns and operates six Little Vienna outlets in the Sydney CBD, has been penalised $10,880 and his company Little Vienna Pty Ltd has been penalised a further $76,160.
The penalties are the result of legal action by the Fair Work Ombudsman, initiated after employee complaints were made.
Eleven South Korean employees at the Little Vienna outlets were underpaid a total of $111,781 for various periods of work between December 2012 and April 2015.
Ten of the employees were on 417 working holiday visas and one was on a student visa. Most of the employees spoke little English and one was a junior, aged 19 at the time.
The employees were paid $10 an hour for their first two weeks of work, before being paid flat rates of $11 to $13 an hour. As casual employees under the Fast Food Industry Award, the adult employees were entitled to $21.21 to $23.15 an hour, with the junior employee entitled to slightly lower rates.
One of the adult employees was underpaid by nearly $30,000.
The employees said the impact of the underpayments was signification, with two individuals giving evidence that without financial assistance from friends or family, they would not have been able to meet basic living expenses.
All employees have now been back-paid in full.
Kim and his company also contravened workplace laws during the Fair Work Ombudsman’s investigation by providing inspectors with fabricated records that purported to show staff had been paid much higher rates than was actually the case. Laws relating to pay slips and minimum engagement hours were also contravened.
Judge Robert Cameron found that the underpayment of the employees was deliberate and said Kim had not expressed remorse or regret for his actions.
The penalties imposed should “serve as a warning to others not to engage in similar conduct,” Cameron said.
“The failure to keep necessary records is a particularly pernicious practice because it makes the proper quantification of workers’ entitlements more difficult than would otherwise be the case.”
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James (pictured) said the penalties imposed send a message that exploiting overseas workers is serious conduct that will not be tolerated.
James said a particularly concerning feature of the case was that the exploitation occurred after Kim and his company deliberately recruited Korean employees by placing job advertisements on a Korean language website.
“I want to make it clear that the lawful obligations to pay minimum wage rates, keep appropriate employment records and issue pay slips apply to all employers in Australia and they are not negotiable,” she said.
“We treat cases involving underpayment of overseas workers particularly seriously because we are conscious that they can be vulnerable due to a lack of awareness of their entitlements, language barriers and a reluctance to complain.
“I understand there are cultural challenges and vastly different laws in other parts of the world, but it is incumbent on all businesses operating in Australia to understand and apply Australian laws.”
Earlier this year, the owner of a Brisbane sushi outlet faced court for allegedly underpaying five employees at two outlets $28,615.
Four of the employees were Korean nationals who spoke limited English and were in Australia on student and 417 working holiday visas at the time.
Image: Blue Mountains Gazette