FWC finds Mantle Group underpaid hundreds of hospo workers
Mantle Group Hospitality, one of Queensland’s biggest hospitality empires must pay back hundreds of employees after the Fair Work Commission found it had underpaid them.
Mantle, which runs cafes, bars and restaurants including iconic venues like the Pig ‘n’ Whistle and Jimmy’s on the Mall in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall, and The Squire’s Landing in Circular Quay, was found to have underpaid employees their weekend and public holiday rates, along with allowances like superannuation.
The commission found Mantle had illegally signed employees onto “zombie agreements” significantly under the award rate.
Not only will the Group have to pay back withheld earnings, but a senior manager may also be referred to the Federal Police.
The commission found the manager had given false and misleading evidence about how employees came to be on the contracts.
Maurice Blackburn Principal Giri Sivaraman said mantle will be required to undertake a full audit to pay casual workers owed penalty rates.
The decision means the company would have to do a complete back audit to pay back the casual workers denied their rightful penalty rates.
“The zombie agreement undermines the award, short-changed workers and gave Mantle Group an unfair competitive advantage,” Sivaraman said.
“It’s time to euthanise this agreement.
“It’s a staggering and sad indictment on the HR practices of Mantle Group,” he said.
The commission found the agreement should never have been approved.
The “zombie agreement” was over 20 years.
The Fair Work Commission stated four “relatively high-paid” managers created an agreement that was a “deliberate manipulation of the statutory process for making enterprise agreements”.
“Their approval of the agreement, which was subsequently to apply to a host of employees who were not to be given the opportunity to bargain or vote, was entirely lacking in authenticity and moral authority,” the FWC judgment states.
Senior manager Darren Latham was singled out for approving he agreement.
“Accordingly, we will request that the general manager of the commission consider whether Mr Latham’s conduct in respect of his Form F17 declaration in this matter should be the subject of a referral to the Australian Federal Police,” the FWC judgment states.
Latham refused to answer questions during the hearing.
United Workers Union industrial officer Martin De Rooy praised the decision.
“This win is thanks to brave, young workers who stood up to one of Australia’s richest hospo bosses,” De Rooy said in a statement.
Jonathan Jackson - 19-1-23
