Employer’s failure to check minimum wage rates results in back-payment bill for $500,000

A health business that failed to check minimum wage rates inadvertently underpaid almost 200 staff half a million dollars.

Travel agency signs workplace pact after short-changing Korean worker $4200 in just 7 weeks

A Melbourne travel agency underpaid a Korean sales assistant more than $4200 over a period of just seven weeks, a Fair Work Ombudsman investigation has found.

Indian couple allegedly paid no wages for more than a year’s work at country restaurants

An Indian couple promised a combined income of about $1600 a week to work in Indian restaurants in country Victoria were paid no wages for more than a year’s work, the Fair Work Ombudsman alleges.

Cleaning contractors face more spot checks after $763,000 recovered for 1200 employees

Cleaning contractors face ongoing spot checks by the Fair Work Ombudsman again this year as it endeavours to detect and deter deliberate non-compliance with federal workplace laws.

Child care centre operators fined $15,000 after refusing to co-operate with investigation

Refusal to co-operate with a Fair Work Ombudsman underpayment investigation has resulted in the operators of a NSW child care centre being fined $15,000.

$24,000 penalty for short-changing teenage apprentice hairdresser $6400

A Sydney hair and beauty salon’s attempt to cut costs by short-changing a teenage apprentice hairdresser $6400 has back-fired – with the operators being fined almost four times that amount for their conduct.

1200 businesses face further monitoring

About 1200 businesses found to have underpaid their workers over the past three years will be reviewed again as the Fair Work Ombudsman strives to promote a culture of compliance with workplace laws.

4.5 stars, but hotel housekeepers underpaid

Housekeepers cleaning rooms at one of Australia’s largest hotels will have their pay packets reviewed after an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman found they are being underpaid.

Bakers Delight franchisee signs workplace pact after short-changing 26 employees $40,000

More than two dozen apprentice bakers, baker’s assistants and bakery shop assistants – over half of them aged under 21 – have been reimbursed almost $40,000 after the Fair Work Ombudsman found they were being underpaid.

Department’s budget-saving recruitment strategy risks breaching workplace laws

A Victorian Government department’s employment practices risk breaching federal workplace laws, a Fair Work Ombudsman inquiry has revealed.