Brisbane café owner fined $140,000 for underpaying employees
A Brisbane café was fined $140,000 for breaching the Fair Work Act provision that states employees must be paid in money.
The café involved was found to have partially paid its employees in food and drinks instead of legal tender.
Timi Trading Pty Ltd which operated Café 63 Chermside at the Westfield Chermside shopping centre was fined $95,000 by The Federal Circuit Court.
Furthermore, company director and manager Tien Hoang Le and company manager Minh Vo Duy Nguyen were both fined $20,000 each for their roles in a number of breaches and the owner of the Café 63 brand, Hamish Watson has also been fined $4,800 for his involvement in one breach.
Between August 2017 and January 2018, Café 63 Chermside paid eleven employees part of their wages in food and drink.
Eight of the 11 employees were paid according to Individual Flexibility Agreements (IFAs).
These arrangements provided for flat hourly rates and a list of “bonuses” and “allowances”. They were paid as an alternative to paid penalty rates and overtime under the Restaurant Industry Award 2010.
These “allowances” meant employees were able to receive $42 worth of food and drink per working day. This included $20 in meals, $7 in desserts and $15 in drinks.
Most of the employees were visa holders with seven of them aged under 21. They worked as cooks, kitchen attendants and food and beverage attendants.
Irit Jackson, 8th December 2020
