New guides to help apprentices get off to a good start

The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched two new guides to assist apprentices and their employers to understand their rights and obligations in the workplace.

Compliance checks for 200 businesses in South Australia’s South East region

At least 200 businesses in and around Mount Gambier, Renmark and Murray Bridge are being audited as part of the Fair Work Ombudsman’s latest education and compliance campaign.

Court action after young journalists allegedly underpaid more than $300,000

A company that operates news websites covering regional Queensland is facing the Federal Circuit Court for allegedly underpaying 23 young journalists more than $300,000 over a period of less than 18 months.

Record penalty of $660,000 for fruit market operator after refugee goes without pay for weeks

Record penalties of more than $660,000 have been awarded against the former owner of a Melbourne fruit market and his company which deliberately ignored warnings about required pay rates and did not pay a refugee worker any wages for weeks.

Sushi operator allegedly underpaid vulnerable workers in regional NSW

The Fair Work Ombudsman has commenced legal action against the operators of three ‘Tokyo Sushi’ outlets in NSW for allegedly underpaying workers more than $70,000.

Migrant workers can now anonymously report workplace issues in their own language

The Fair Work Ombudsman is making it easier for migrant workers to report workplace concerns to the agency by launching its popular Anonymous Report function in 16 languages other than English.

Labour-hire operator penalised for flouting laws relating to overseas workers on Queensland farms

A Queensland labour-hire company and its manager have been penalised a total of more than $84,000 after flouting record-keeping and pay slip laws relating to vulnerable foreign workers, despite having previously been cautioned by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

More than $100,000 in unpaid wages and entitlements recovered for Perth workers

Intervention by the Fair Work Ombudsman to assist employees and employers to resolve workplace disputes has resulted in more than $100,000 back-pay for 41 workers across Perth.

Deliberate and systemic underpayments lead to penalties against a former 7-Eleven operator

A former Brisbane 7-Eleven operator has been hit with $168,000 in penalties for short-changing workers and falsifying records to conceal the underpayments.

Not for profit back-pays $370,000 to workers after disability classification mistake

A not-for-profit business in northern NSW inadvertently underpaid 18 employees a total of more than $370,000 after incorrectly classifying each of them as an ‘employee with a disability’, an audit by the Fair Work Ombudsman has found.