Aussie court fines Malaysian food chain for underpaying workers
PETALING JAYA: An Australian court has fined a popular Malaysian food chain in Sydney A$300,000 (RM920,747) for short-changing its employees and using false records to disguise the underpayment.
According to a report by Business Insider Australia, the Australian Federal Court ruled that Mamak Restaurant on Goulburn Street, Haymarket (a suburb of Sydney), had conducted “informal market research into pay rates on the black market” and had underpaid its workers deliberately to maximise profits.
The Fair Work Ombudsman, an independent statutory agency that investigates workplace complaints and enforces compliance with national workplace laws, took legal action against the business in January.
This was after it had discovered that six employees of the restaurant were collectively underpaid more than A$87,000 (RM267,046), earning as little as A$11 (RM33.76) between February 2012 and April 2015.
Judge Justin Smith handed out fines for three of its owners - Joon Hoe Lee, Julian Lee and Alan Wing-Keung Au - amounting to A$36,992 (RM113,534), A$35,360 (RM108,525) and A$35,360 (RM108,525) respectively.
Their company Mamak Pty Ltd was penalised a total of A$184,960 (RM567,671).
Smith said the severity of the penalties, which was close to the maximum under the law, included the fact that false records were given to inspectors, and added that he wanted the penalties to act as a deterrent to other employers.
According to the report, the judge also ordered the company to conduct an audit of its wage bill between March and December 2016 at four of its outlets, plus its factory in inner Sydney where food is prepared.
Fair Work Ombudsman head Natalie James was quoted by Business Insider Australia as saying that Australian minimum wage rates apply to everyone in the country - including visa-holders - and that they are not negotiable.
James also said that researching black market wage rates in an industry is not the way to determine wages for employees.
PETALING JAYA: An Australian court has fined a popular Malaysian food chain in Sydney A$300,000 (RM920,747) for short-changing its employees and using false records to disguise the underpayment.
According to a report by Business Insider Australia, the Australian Federal Court ruled that Mamak Restaurant on Goulburn Street, Haymarket (a suburb of Sydney), had conducted “informal market research into pay rates on the black market” and had underpaid its workers deliberately to maximise profits.
The Fair Work Ombudsman, an independent statutory agency that investigates workplace complaints and enforces compliance with national workplace laws, took legal action against the business in January.
This was after it had discovered that six employees of the restaurant were collectively underpaid more than A$87,000 (RM267,046), earning as little as A$11 (RM33.76) between February 2012 and April 2015.
Judge Justin Smith handed out fines for three of its owners - Joon Hoe Lee, Julian Lee and Alan Wing-Keung Au - amounting to A$36,992 (RM113,534), A$35,360 (RM108,525) and A$35,360 (RM108,525) respectively.
Their company Mamak Pty Ltd was penalised a total of A$184,960 (RM567,671).
Smith said the severity of the penalties, which was close to the maximum under the law, included the fact that false records were given to inspectors, and added that he wanted the penalties to act as a deterrent to other employers.
According to the report, the judge also ordered the company to conduct an audit of its wage bill between March and December 2016 at four of its outlets, plus its factory in inner Sydney where food is prepared.
Fair Work Ombudsman head Natalie James was quoted by Business Insider Australia as saying that Australian minimum wage rates apply to everyone in the country - including visa-holders - and that they are not negotiable.
James also said that researching black market wage rates in an industry is not the way to determine wages for employees.
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