A restaurant on the Gold Coast was audited by the Fair Work Ombudsman as part of their auditing campaign targeting restaurants and fast food outlets on the Gold Coast.

After Fair Work inspectors identified underpayments and educated the Business about correct wages rates the business provided records that the deficiencies had been rectified. Upon viewing the records and satisfied the Business took steps to ensure correct wages were paid, the Ombudsman finalised the audit.

When the Fair Work Ombudsman followed up with the Business, and some of the workers, it became evident that the employer had falsified records provided to the Ombudsman.

Inspectors found that the business had been paying flat rates to some of their workers, including overseas workers on 417 working holiday visas and paying flat rates of between $8-11, well below the award minimum without factoring in penalties rates, loadings and overtime. These underpayments amounted to $59,080 in a period of 4 months. The Business created false records to hide the underpayments.

When the Ombudsman took further legal action against the Business, the Judge noted that the actions of the business were “certainly deliberate” and “gave quite an improper picture of what was happening” whilst imposing $38,000 against the owner personally and $246,400 against the owner's company.

This prosecution serves as a timely reminder that the penalties for deliberate falsification of records to conceal underpayments have substantially increased. The new maximum penalties for serious contraventions are $126,000 for an individual and $630,000 for a body corporate.

Don’t risk it. If you need help understanding your obligations as an employer, give a GTAG Workplace Relations Specialist a call on 02 8355 5111.