Hobart restaurant owners accused of $250K underpayment

Owners of a Vietnamese restaurant in Hobart is facing legal action after being accused of underpaying staff $250,000. 

Ms Xuan A Tran and Mr Quang Manh Dong, owners of Vietnamese restaurant Vina Yummy Kitchen in Sandy Bay, are not only accused of underpaying two visa holder workers, but also of falsifying their documents.

The issue came to light after Ms Xuan Tran's sister, Ms Hai Tran, who worked at the kitchen, contacted the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) for assistance in 2019.

This led to a 16-month investigation that has alleged Ms Hai Tran and her husband Khan Nguyen were underpaid $250,312 over four years of service.

Ms Hai Tran and Mr Nguyen emigrated to Australia in 2015, after being recruited by Ms Xuan Tran.

Ms Hai Tran is reported to have worked 38 hours per week for payment of between $26.32 and $32.90 per hour; Mr Nguyen worked 15 hours per week for $20 per hour.

However, court documents show the pair was paid significantly less. Over a four-year period, the pair is said to have earned as little as $7.82 per hour, compared to 2015’s minimum hourly rate for someone under the restaurant award of $18.47.

The FWO claims Ms Hai Tran was a part-time employee, paid an average of $8.50 an hour for the ordinary hours she worked, while Mr Nguyen allegedly worked an average of 70 hours for just under $9.50 an hour.

Overtime rates, Saturday penalties and annual leave has also been questioned.

It is alleged Ms Hai Tran was entitled to be paid about $70,000, not the $30,000 she was paid during her four-year tenure. She was also told by her sister that she would have to pay back some of her wage to cover superannuation and tax. 

As for Mr Nguyen, he was allegedly underpaid a total of $239,502.69.

Ms Xuan Tran and Mr Dong are also alleged to have breached the Fair Work Act by failing to keep and make records, failing to give their employees payslips and providing the FWO with false records.

The FWO is seeking court-imposed penalties for each breach of the act and wants the owners to undertake workplace standards training and backpay the $250,000 with interest.

So far, just $6,157 has been repaid and the owners are yet to file a defence.

Irit Jackson, 25^th August 2021