AEU Federal Court proceedings adjourned
May 7th, 2010
The Fair Work Ombudsman has agreed to adjourn its proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia seeking the imposition of an interim injunction on the Australian Education Union (AEU) to prevent disruption of the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests next week.
At 2.15pm today, the AEU re-opened its case before the Federal Court and filed evidence that it had lifted its moratorium on the conduct and administration of the 2010 NAPLAN tests.
Counsel for the AEU, Mark Irving, told Justice Christopher Jessup, there was no qualification on the Union lifting the moratorium.
Fair Work Ombudsman Chief Counsel Leigh Johns welcomed the AEU’s decision to lift the moratorium. “As the national regulator of Australia’s workplace laws, we acted promptly in seeking to prevent proposed unprotected industrial action that would have had serious implications for the learning outcomes of thousands of students,” he said.
“Quite rightly, unions expect employers to abide by workplace laws. Therefore, unions and their members must also comply with those laws and respect the authority of industrial tribunals.”
While the Fair Work Ombudsman’s proceedings have been adjourned to May 28, the Federal Court granted the Agency liberty to make an application to bring the matter on sooner if need be. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s Complex Case Unit will closely monitor the conduct of the AEU and its members in relation to the conduct and administration of the NAPLAN tests.
Mr Johns says the Agency takes very seriously its legislative responsibilities to ensure industrial action is not unprotected and within the provisions of the Fair Work Act, which provide for a regime of lawful industrial action during bargaining.
6th May 2010, www.fwo.gov.au
Court action over alleged failure to provide employment records
May 5th, 2010
The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched a prosecution against the former operator of a Mildura restaurant for allegedly failing to provide employment records for an employee who claimed he had been underpaid.
Facing court is Grenpro Pty Ltd, which formerly operated the Chaffey Restaurant on Deakin Avenue, Mildura.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is also taking legal action against the company’s sole director and part-owner Aaron Michael Grennan, of Mildura, who formerly managed the restaurant.
Documents lodged in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court allege Mr Grennan was responsible for Grenpro breaching national workplace laws by failing to comply with requests to provide employment records.
Under the Fair Work Act, employers must comply with requests from the Fair Work Ombudsman to provide employment records relating to employees and former employees.
The Fair Work Ombudsman requested employment records from Grenpro in November, 2009 during its investigation of an underpayment complaint lodged by a man the company had employed as a cook in 2008-09.
Grenpro and Mr Grennan face maximum penalties of $33,000 and $6600 respectively.
Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director Michael Campbell says before the Fair Work Act, record-keeping breaches attracted lesser fines of $5500 for companies and $1100 for individuals.
Mr Campbell says failing to comply with a request to provide records is a serious matter as it shows a disregard for workplace laws and the important work of Fair Work inspectors.
It is also alleged that Mr Grennan was responsible for Grenpro breaching national workplace laws by failing to issue pay slips to the employee. The maximum potential penalty is $5500 for the company and $1100 for Mr Grennan.
Employers or employees seeking assistance should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au. For translations call 13 14 50.
5th May 2010, www.fwo.gov.au
Fair Work inspectors visit Southbank and Docklands precincts
April 21st, 2010
Surprise visits to retail and hospitality businesses at Melbourne’s Southbank and Docklands precincts have found almost 70 per cent of employers are complying with federal workplace laws.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has completed audits of 18 businesses randomly selected for scrutiny as part of a rolling program in Victoria focused on shopping centres and industrial parks.
Six of the 18 businesses (33 per cent) recorded breaches. Four were in relation to record-keeping and payslips and two were in relation to underpayments.
Fair Work Ombudsman Executive-Director Michael Campbell says about $14,600 is being recovered for 11 employees at two Docklands businesses after inspectors found they had been underpaid their minimum hourly rate and penalty rates for evening and weekend shifts.
Mr Campbell says the employers are co-operating with inspectors and have agreed to voluntarily back-pay all outstanding entitlements.
Some investigations remain ongoing and inspectors are confident of recovering $10,200 for four employees at one further Docklands business.
Mr Campbell says employers or employees seeking up-to-date information on wage rates and conditions should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au
Also available at the website is information and templates to assist employers better manage employment records and payslips.
Under Commonwealth workplace laws, employers must keep accurate time, wages, annual leave and other employment records and issue sufficiently detailed payslips.
Eleven Best Practice Guides have been developed to assist employers make better use of the provisions of the Fair Work Act and better understand other aspects of workplace laws.
The new guides are on the website and cover work and family, consultation and co-operation, individual flexibility arrangements, employing young workers, gender pay equity, small business, workplace privacy, managing underperformance, effective dispute resolution and improving workplace productivity in bargaining.
21st April 2010, www.fwo.gov.au
Correction & Retraction
March 12th, 2010
On January 14th 2009, Haycroft Workplace Solutions published on this site an article titled “Queensland transport company faces court over underpayments to driver” that was sourced and published from www.wo.gov.au on 13th January 2009.
We would like to retract the publication of this article and correct that Sydney Horse Transport has no affiliation with Ella Enterprises Pty Ltd and Sydney Horse Transport was not involved in any underpayment dispute.
Invitation to Accountants – Free Practical Solutions to Fair Work Act offer
March 9th, 2010
Many accountants in our network have advised us that their clients have given feedback that they are very unaware and uncertain of what to do regarding the Fair Work Act 2009, including the requirements under the National Employment Standards and the Modern Awards.
Our business has successfully delivered the message of practical solutions to this growing industrial relations issue. Recent seminars held on the Sunshine Coast have been a great success, and we plan to expand the network through accountants in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, for the benefit of your clients.
Seminar outline
- Able to be held at our Kangaroo Point office or at your premises
- Minimum of 10 guests required to be confirmed for seminar
- Professional speaker – handouts and slide show
- Suggest morning tea meeting, approx 1.5 hours
- Plenty of time for questions
- We charge you no fees for this service. Morning tea/drinks for guests to be provided by you.
If you would like further information, or would like to book a seminar for your accountancy firm and your clients, please contact Anita Moss on (07) 3891 7788, or 0401 690 150.
$35,000 back-pay for three Darwin workers
March 8th, 2010
A Darwin business has reimbursed a mechanic a total of $15,000 after a recent investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found he was underpaid.
The mechanic lodged a complaint with the Fair Work Ombudsman when he was not paid the correct penalty rates for overtime.
Fair Work inspectors raised the issue with the man’s employer, who voluntarily reimbursed the worker $15,160.
In a separate case, two caravan park workers in Darwin have also been back-paid a total $20,000 after their employer was not paying weekend or penalty rates.
The employer was paying the two workers a flat rate for all hours worked.
After Fair Work inspectors contacted the business, the workers were promptly back-paid $14,400 and $5600 respectively.
Fair Work Ombudsman Executive Director Michael Campbell says that because the employers fully co-operated with inspectors and voluntarily rectified the underpayments, no further action will be taken.
“We have a flexible, fair approach and our preference is always to work with employers to educate them and help them voluntarily rectify any non-compliance issues we identify,” he said.
“However, employers need to be aware that they can face fines of up $33,000 per breach if we do take matters to court.”
The Fair Work Ombudsman can help workers and employers to understand their rights and obligations under new National Employment Standards and Modern Awards, which took effect on January 1, 2010.
The Agency has a range of user-friendly resources to assist employers and workers comply with workplace laws and operate their business according to best practice.
Employers or employees seeking assistance should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au where payslip and record-keeping templates and other tools are available. For translations call 13 14 50.
The Fair Work Ombudsman promotes harmonious, productive and co-operative workplaces. It also monitors compliance with and investigates breaches of national workplace laws.
Court hands down $50,000 penalty for underpaying Deniliquin worker
March 5th, 2010
The former operators of the Deniliquin Golf Club Pro Shop have been fined $50,000 for underpaying an employee.
Roach Golf Enterprises Pty Ltd, which formerly operated the shop, has been fined $16,000 and the company’s sole director, Bryan James Roach, of Forster, a further $34,000.
The penalties were imposed in the NSW Chief Industrial Magistrate’s Court in Sydney this week following a prosecution by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The Court had previously instructed the company to back-pay the worker $30,185 plus interest.
Magistrate Patricia O’Shane heard that a casual retail assistant at the Deniliquin shop was underpaid between 2006 and 2008.
The worker, in his 40s, was paid a flat rate of $13 for all hours worked, including some public holidays on which he was entitled to receive up to $45 per hour.
This resulted in underpayment of his minimum hourly rate, weekend and public holiday penalty rates, overtime and annual leave entitlements.
Inspectors from the Fair Work Ombudsman’s Wagga office discovered the underpayments.
Fair Work Ombudsman NSW Director Mark Davidson says underpaying workers’ minimum entitlements is a serious matter.
“Workers have the right to receive the minimum rates that apply to their positions and we will not hesitate to pursue employers who fail to comply with laws protecting that right,” Mr Davidson said.
The Fair Work Ombudsman promotes harmonious, productive and co-operative workplaces. It also monitors compliance and investigates breaches of national workplace laws.
Employers or employees seeking assistance should contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au. For translations call 13 14 50.
Practical Solutions Seminar to Modern Awards & IR Laws
January 15th, 2010
The release of the Modern Awards and National Employment Standards (NES) on 1 January 2010 has raised many questions from small business owners. In particular those affected by shift work and penalty rates.
Haycroft Workplace Solutions are presenting breakfast seminars to assist business owners to understand the compliance requirements, answer your questions and provide solutions.
For more information and to register, Click here to download “Practical Solutions SEMINAR to Modern Awards & IR Laws” (PDF file, 323kb).
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Court fines hospitality group for underpaying Sydney bar staff
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