Most Canberra restaurants breach workplace laws
An audit has found the majority of Canberra restaurants are breaching workplace laws.
The Fair Work ombudsman audited 179 restaurants and cafes across Canberra between November 2011 and March this year.
It found 105 businesses, or 59 per cent, were in breach.
Of those in breach, nearly half were not paying employees the correct wages, a third had poor record-keeping, and the remainder had both.
An investigation into one business is continuing.
After the audit, almost $280,000 was repaid to 482 workers.
The highest was more than $26,000 to six workers in one restaurant.
Acting Fair Work ombudsman Michael Campbell says the campaign was sparked by a high number of complaints from staff working in Canberra restaurants.
"We receive a constant stream of complaints from employees in restaurants and cafes in the capital and have found a high level of non-compliance with workplace laws," he said.
"Given that, we decided an extensive, targeted campaign was necessary, with a focus on identifying underpayments and educating employers about how they can ensure they meet their obligations to employees."
Mr Campbell says while the high level of breaches is concerning, all employers have have moved to repay staff and are working with Fair Work inspectors to make changes for the future.
"A key focus of these campaigns is to work with employers and steer them to tools and resources that we have freely available on our website so they can check that they are meeting their obligations," he said.
"For employers, there's a big incentive to get it right. Apart from penalties that can be imposed if a matter is taken to court, no business wants to face an unexpectedly large bill that can seriously disrupt cash-flow."
The second phase of the compliance campaign will start in August.
"It includes audits of cafes, restaurants and catering companies across Australia. ACT restaurants will be included in that campaign to allow us to determine whether compliance levels in the capital have improved," Mr Campbell said.
Source: ABC News, 5 June 2013
