THE operators of a Footscray Indian restaurant have been fined $72,000 for underpaying a cook recruited from India by more than $24,000.
Taj Palace Tandoori Indian Restaurant Pty Ltd, which operates a restaurant of the same name on Nicholson Street, Footscray, was fined $60,000 and restaurant manager and part-owner Nathi Singh Rawat, of Sydenham, was fined $12,000.
The restaurant sponsored the cook, an Indian man in his 30s who spoke little English, to come to Australia on a 457 work visa.
He was paid a flat rate of $752 a week, often working 60-70 hours, including nights and weekends.
The cook was underpaid his minimum hourly rate, shift allowances, annual leave entitlements and penalty rates for overtime, night, weekend and public holiday work.
Over a 10-month period in 2008-9, he was underpaid a total of $24,217.
The Fair Work Ombudsman first investigated the matter when the employee lodged a complaint in 2009.
The restaurant back-paid the employee’s outstanding entitlements in 2010 but it did not escape court action for breach of workplace laws.
Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said the penalty showed the courts were taking a dim view of employers who exploited their staff.
“We treat cases involving the exploitation of vulnerable foreign workers very seriously,” he said.
The Fair Work Ombudsman also found that the restaurant had failed to keep proper employment records and issue pay slips to the employee.
In his judgment on the case, Federal Magistrate Grant Riethmuller reiterated the importance of employers complying with their obligations.
“The need to ensure compliance, particularly with respect to vulnerable workers, such as those on work visas, those who come to Australia without strong language skills, and those with little education, is crucial to a just society and the avoidance of exploitation,” he said.
“Proper pay slips allow employees to understand how their pay is calculated and, therefore, easily obtain advice.
“Pay slips provide the most practical check on false record-keeping and underpayments and allow for genuine mistakes or misunderstandings to quickly be identified.
“Without proper pay slips, employees are significantly disempowered, creating a structure within which breaches of the industrial laws can easily be perpetrated.”
