Tech company to pay $30k in penalties, back pay

An information and communication technology provider will have to fork out over $30,000 in penalties and back-pay orders after underpaying a worker more than $22,000.

In March of last year, the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced legal action against the operators of information and communication technology products and services provider Pure Telecom, trading as “VMCN Solutions” in Willoughby, Sydney.

The regulator commenced an investigation, it said at the time, after receiving a request for assistance from a worker the company employed as a full-time IT professional between November 2014 and July 2021.

A compliance notice was issued by a Fair Work inspector to Pure Telecom in May 2022 after forming a belief the company had underpaid the worker’s minimum wages, owed under the Professional Employees Award 2010 and the Professional Employees Award 2020.

The inspector also formed a belief, the FWO said in March 2023, that the worker was not paid the full amount of accrued but untaken annual leave entitlements owed at the end of his employment under the Fair Work Act’s National Employment Standards.

Now, the FWO has secured a total of $30,548 in penalties and back-pay orders in court against the company, with the Federal Circuit and Family Court imposing a $7,000 penalty against Pure Telecom and a $1,400 penalty being levelled against the company’s sole director, Steven Joseph Woods.

In addition to the penalties, the court has ordered Pure Telecom to back pay the worker a total of $22,148, plus superannuation.

The worker was owed more than $48,000.

It is apparent, Judge Robert Cameron found, “that the underpayments were significant when compared with [the worker’s] salary”, which was $55,000.

Partial back payments have already been made, which commenced after the compliance notice was issued and the FWO commenced legal proceedings.

Speaking about the orders, FWO Anna Booth said that business operators that fail to act on compliance notices need to be aware they can face penalties in court on top of having to back pay workers.

“When compliance notices are not followed, we will continue to take legal action to protect employees. Employers who fail to act on these notices risk substantial penalties and back-pay orders,” she said.

“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance.”