Kebab shop owners who committed wage theft by deliberately underpaying a migrant worker penalised $132k for failing to keep employment records and for breaching the Award.
The WA Industrial Magistrates Court has found East Perth kebab shop Newroz Kebab & Turkish Bakery committed wage theft by deliberately underpaying a migrant worker over $102,000.
The owners of Newroz, Kahraman Karakuyu and Done Karakuyu, underpaid the vulnerable worker between 2016 and 2018. The Court ordered the owners to pay the worker his outstanding wages with interest, and further penalised them $132,000 for failing to keep employment records and for breaching the State Restaurant, Tearoom and Catering Workers' Award.
The kebab shop employed the worker soon after he moved to Australia on a temporary visa. The worker was required to work up to 64.5 hours a week, 6 days a week, often working until after midnight. The business paid him a flat rate of $20 per hour, including on weekends and public holidays, and did not pay superannuation on his behalf. The Court found on average the worker was underpaid $613 per week.
The worker made a complaint to the Department of Local Government, Industry Regulation and Safety after his employment with Newroz ended. The Department brought proceedings in the Industrial Magistrates Court following an investigation by an industrial inspector.
The Court found the family business had implemented practices to help prevent the detection of the underpayments including failing to keep employment records, producing false or misleading tax returns and seeking to mislead industrial inspectors.
Private Sector Labour Relations Acting Executive Director Eileen McCaffrey said the Court's decision sent a strong message that wage theft would not be tolerated.
"This worker and his young family suffered significant financial, social and emotional stress as a result of the business's conscious decision to underpay him," Dr McCaffrey said.
"The human cost of wage theft cannot be underestimated, it makes us poorer as a society and undercuts law-abiding businesses."
Dr McCaffrey noted that the business now had a $250,000 bill to pay for choosing to ignore its employment obligations.
"Industrial inspectors are on the beat conducting unannounced inspections in known high-risk industries like hospitality. We will use the full force of the law where necessary, and businesses will have to deal with the reputational damage of having dodgy employment practices exposed."
A previous campaign in the cafe and restaurant sector by industrial inspectors found that four out of five businesses were not complying with State employment laws.
Western Australian workers can find out how to seek help with resolving an underpayment issue or anonymously report wage theft at www.wagetheft.wa.gov.au . Information on how to report wage theft is available on the website in 13 languages.
Information on employer obligations is available at www.lgirs.wa.gov.au/wageline or by calling Wageline on 1300 655 266.
