The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured a total of $76,387 in penalties and back-pay orders in court against the former operators of a Gami Chicken & Beer franchisee outlet in Melbourne, for breaches affecting young and migrant workers.
Vanna Taing and Brandon Bui, who formerly operated the 'Gami-Southland' outlet at the Westfield Southland Shopping Centre in Cheltenham, have been penalised $15,000 and $12,500, respectively.
Gary Lai, who performed a human resources role for the business, has been penalised $4,000.
The penalties were imposed in the Federal Circuit and Family Court.
The penalties were imposed in 2024 in response to Mr Taing and Mr Bui being involved in using false records, failing to keep proper records and failing to comply with a Compliance Notice, which required the back-payment of 16 kitchen and wait staff.
The underpaid workers included two young workers, aged 17 at the time, and a number of visa holders, including workers from Vietnam and Korea.
Mr Lai was penalised for his involvement in the false records breach.
In addition to the penalties, the Federal Court has now ordered, in a concluded appeal, Mr Taing and Mr Bui to jointly pay the workers a total of $44,887 in entitlements still owing to them.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said employers that use false records and fail to act on Compliance Notices needed to be aware they faced a strong risk of legal action.
"When employers use false records to try to thwart our investigations and when Compliance Notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action," Ms Booth said.
"Using false records is always unacceptable and our experienced inspectors will detect them. Employers also need to be aware that taking action to protect young workers and visa holders and improve compliance in the fast food, restaurants and cafés sector are among our top priorities.
"Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance."
The FWO first investigated Gami-Southland as part of surprise audits of Gami Chicken & Beer stores across Melbourne, Sydney and Perth in 2019.
During that investigation, Mr Taing, Mr Bui and Mr Lai were involved in knowingly providing false pay slips to a Fair Work Inspector purporting to show that three workers were paid higher rates than they actually had been paid.
The FWO commenced a second investigation into Gami-Southland in 2021 after receiving requests for assistance from workers who had worked at the restaurant.
A Fair Work Inspector issued a Compliance Notice to Mr Taing and Mr Bui in October 2022 after forming a belief that 16 kitchen and wait staff had not been paid any wages and entitlements for work performed over a three-week period before their franchisee licence was terminated in 2021 and the restaurant closed.
The workers were underpaid minimum wages, penalty rates, casual loadings, annual leave entitlements and payment-in-lieu-of-notice-of-termination entitlements, owed under the Restaurant Industry Award 2010 and the Fair Work Act's National Employment Standards.
In her 2024 judgment, Federal Circuit and Family Court Judge Amanda Mansini found that the failure to comply with the Compliance Notice was serious and deliberate and that the false records breach was "especially serious in that it was a deliberate attempt to prevent the FWO from discovering any non-compliance with workplace laws and minimum conditions of employment".
Judge Mansini found that there was a need to impose penalties to deter Mr Taing, Mr Bui and Mr Lai from further breaches and to "send a message to other employers about the need for compliance". Employers and employees can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice and assistance about their rights and obligations in the workplace.
