The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured $10,479 in penalties in court against the operators of a dumpling restaurant in Newcastle for a breach affecting vulnerable migrant workers, including young international students.
The Federal Circuit and Family Court has imposed a $4,563.54 penalty against Kailiang Chen and a $5,915.70 penalty against Alex Du, who operated Dumpling Land in Wallsend, as a partnership.
The penalties were imposed in response to Mr Chen and Mr Du breaching the Fair Work Act by failing to comply with a Compliance Notice issued in August 2023.
A Fair Work Inspector issued the Compliance Notice after forming a belief that Mr Chen and Mr Du had underpaid 28 workers their minimum wages, overtime entitlements and penalty rates, owed under the Restaurant Industry Award 2020, between June 2021 and April 2023.
Most of the workers were international students with some aged under 25 at the time.
Following the FWO's investigation, Mr Chen and Mr Du back-paid some staff but back-payments to 10 workers remain outstanding.
In addition to the penalties, the Court has ordered Mr Chen and Mr Du to pay six of those workers a total of $12,423, plus superannuation and interest, and to comply with the Compliance Notice by calculating and rectifying any underpayments owing to the other four workers.
Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said employers that fail to act on Compliance Notices needed to be aware they could face court-imposed penalties on top of having to back-pay workers.
"When Compliance Notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action to ensure workers receive all their lawful entitlements," Ms Booth said.
"We treat cases impacting visa holders and young workers particularly seriously, because we are conscious they can be vulnerable due to factors such as a lack of awareness of their entitlements or a reluctance to complain.
"Employers need to be aware that taking action to protect vulnerable workers is an enduring priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman. Any workers with concerns should contact us for free advice and assistance."
The regulator investigated the matter as part of surprise inspections of Newcastle eateries in April 2023.
The affected 28 workers were engaged in full-time, part-time and casual roles as food and beverage attendants, kitchen hands and delivery drivers.
In her judgment, Judge Natasha Laing found there was a need to impose penalties that would deter Mr Chen and Mr Du, as well as other employers, from similar future conduct.
"The penalties imposed in this matter should be sufficiently high to impress upon those in positions of responsibility the importance of complying with their legal obligations, and in particular the need to comply with statutory notices from the FWO," Judge Laing said.
The Fair Work Ombudsman filed 146 litigations against employers involving visa holder workers, and secured nearly $23 million in penalties in cases that have included visa holder workers, in the seven financial years to June 2024.
