Wages are one of the most expensive parts of running a business. And because of the cost there are many industries known for breaking the rules.  

Security, hospitality and other industries known to have low margins struggle when it comes to payment of wages, and the resulting BAS and Super payments.  

The fact we have so many Pay Awards does not help. And most Awards are written in Hebrew and as you cannot read Hebrew your chances of hitting the right pay amount for your team is not as easy as it seems.  

So many get it wrong accidently. Many get it wrong on purpose by underpaying and then trying to cover it up. Do so at your peril.   

The Fair Work Ombudsman recently secured a total of $204,000 in penalties against a Brisbane fast-food business after it underpaid a single worker and used false payslips to mislead an investigation.  

The legal action followed an FWO investigation into the business after a request for help from a Nepalese national employed as a casual from April 2018 to August 2019.  

The Judge found that the business owners had falsified records to make it appear the worker had been paid award rates and almost got away with it had it not been for the diligent worker who kept records of their roster and tracking their trips to and from work.  

There’s more. In addition to the fine the legal action also required the business owners to back-pay the worker $59,400 plus interest and superannuation after the FWO found the worker had been paid just $11-$13 an hour.  

Fair Work have made it clear that those who use fake records and try to hinder FWO investigations would face serious consequences.  

They have also made it easier for VISA holders who may have breached their work-related VISA conditions. FWA has agreed with the Department of Home Affairs, that visa holders can ask for help without fear of their visa being cancelled for breaches of their work-related visa conditions.  

The FWA is now asking more questions and using technology held by employees to catch employers who underpay out so don’t do it.