Two employees at a Traralgon eatery have been back-paid $7700 after the Fair Work Ombudsman found the business had short-changed them.
According to the Ombudsman, a casual waitress was paid lower part-time rates and underpaid her Saturday and Sunday penalty rates for 17 months.
The young worker was paid a minimum of up to $17.35 an hour on weekdays, $21.65 on Saturdays and $26.03 on Sundays when she should have received up to $23.09 on weekdays and $27.71 at weekends, a statement from the Ombudsman said.
A full-time junior apprentice chef did not receive his tool allowance and was paid a flat rate of $10.80 an hour for three months, but should have received a minimum of $11.07 and up $16.20 at weekends, according to the Ombudsman.
He was also not paid his annual leave and annual leave loading upon termination.
The employer told Fair Work inspectors the underpayments were inadvertent and the business had since introduced procedures to prevent ongoing errors.
The employer also failed to pass on the annual federal wage increase and only issued pay-slips to employees upon request, the statement said.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said while the employer had corrected their mistakes, the business received a formal Letter of Caution placing it on notice that further contraventions of workplace law could result in enforcement action.
“When we find mistakes, our preference is to educate employers about their obligations and assist them to put processes in place to ensure the errors are not repeated,” Ms James said.
Anyone seeking assistance can visit www.fairwork.gov.au or phone the Fair Work infoline on 13 13 94.
