The Fair Work Ombudsman has signed an Enforceable Undertaking with trustees of a Cairns restaurant which has back-paid nearly $87,000 to 76 employees, including vulnerable visa holders.
The undertaking has been made by trustees Mesa 3 Pty Ltd and Helen Papagelou, for the Ex-RPH Trust, trading as Villa Romana restaurant.
It commits the employer to improve its compliance practices, which include record-keeping.
The FWO identified the underpayments, as well as widespread record-keeping failures, during its investigation after a snap inspection of the Italian restaurant in 2023 as part of wider inspections of Cairns food precincts businesses.
The impacted employees were both kitchen and front-of-house staff, with at least 28 of the 76 workers (37 per cent) being on working holiday visas or student visas.
Underpayments to individual employees ranged from $10 to $4,283.
The Villa Romana underpayments that the FWO identified occurred between May and October 2023.
While most of the underpayments arose from failing to pay staff weekend penalty rates, failure to pay overtime rates, split shift allowances and correct base rates also contributed to underpayments.
As well as rectifying the $86,873 underpayments in full, Villa Romana has put in place systems and processes to prevent further underpayments. The restaurant's trustees will also make a contrition payment of $40,000.
An Enforceable Undertaking was considered appropriate because of Villa Romana's cooperation with the FWO in its investigation, back-payments, and measures to prevent future non-compliance.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said accurate and complete record-keeping was the bedrock of compliance with the Fair Work Act.
"Villa Romana's record-keeping failures were extensive. Accurate records and payslips are crucial to allow employees to see if their employers are paying them lawfully for all hours worked," Ms Booth said.
"On the underpayments, penalty rates are an important legal entitlement to compensate staff working unsociable hours.
"We welcome the employer's back-payments of all impacted staff, including visa holders, and their commitments to improve their processes so that there is ongoing compliance in the future.
"Improving compliance in the fast food, restaurants and cafés sector is a priority for the FWO, including due to its engagement of a significant number of visa holders, who may be vulnerable.
"The FWO encourages employers to take advantage of the tools and resources we offer via our website, the Fair Work Infoline and the Employer Advisory Service to get wages right and maintain correct records," Ms Booth said.
Under the EU with the Fair Work Ombudsman, Villa Romana has agreed to:
- commission, at its own cost, two compliance audits to check it is meeting all employee entitlements - and rectify any underpayments found
- require all staff involved in payroll and management to undertake workplace relations training
- conduct an employee survey to identify and enable the rectification of any workplace issues, and
- make a contrition payment of $40,000 into the Australian Government Consolidated Revenue Fund.
The FWO offers pay slip and record-keeping templates to help employers get record-keeping right in our website's Small Business Showcase, which has an array of tailored resources for small business employers.
There is an online course for employers specifically about record-keeping and pay slips and small businesses can audit their own compliance with their obligations with this checklist.
The FWO also has an Employer Advisory Service which provides small business employers with free, tailored advice on employee pay and entitlements.
Employees can keep track of their hours worked through the Record My Hours app.
