Employers who showed “reckless disregard” for payment obligations fined
Tuesday 6 August 2013 @ 8.56 a.m. | Industrial Law
Two Tasmanian Japanese restaurant owners have copped a hefty $180,000 fine for underpaying 50 employees. The Federal Circuits Court found 50 employees had been underpaid across the four restaurants a total of $105,738 between 2010 and 2011, according to an article in smartcompany.com.au.
Kazuhiro Kojima and Zhicheng Zhang, who own and operate the Bento Box restaurants in Launceston and Devonport and the Wan Japanese Restaurant in Launceston, have been individually fined $27,984.
The company which operates the restaurants, Bento Kings Meadows, owned by the two men, was fined $122,960.
The case first came to light in January 2013 following an investigation by the Fair Work Ombudsman.
In another case of mistreatment against vulnerable workers, the employees were predominantly foreign nationals from Asia, some of whom spoke limited English and were international students.
The workers completed cleaning and cooking duties, food preparation and customer service and were paid flat rates as low as $5 to $10 an hour.
Click here to access the Federal Circuits Court judgment.
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