Darwin burger joint operator fined for exploitation of young worker

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has secured a $21,645 penalty in court against a former operator of a burger outlet in Darwin.

A breach affecting a young, vulnerable worker was the overarching charge for Territory Tough, which formerly operated a burger outlet trading as “Good Thanks” in Darwin’s CBD.

The penalty was imposed by the Federal Circuit and Family Court in response to Territory Tough’s failure to comply with the compliance notice requiring it to calculate and back pay entitlements owed to a young chef who was working full-time between May 2019 and June 2022.

A FWO inspector issued the compliance notice to the company way back in October 2022, in response to it failing to pay the worker wages for time spent attending registered training as part of his apprenticeship.

This young worker was aged between 17 and 20 at the time and was engaged in a commercial cookery apprenticeship, as stated above.

Following Territory Tough’s failure to comply with a court order made earlier this year to back pay the worker, the court ordered that a total of $6,118 of the overall penalty imposed on the company be provided directly to the worker. This is the amount that was calculated by the FWO as outstanding under the notice at the time of the hearing.

Fair Work Ombudsman’s Anna Booth shared her views on business operators that continually fail to act on compliance notices and need to be aware that they can face enormous penalties and back-pay orders in court.

“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,” said Booth.

“This case is also a reminder that apprentices must be paid for time spent attending registered training.”

“Employers should also be aware that taking action to protect young workers and to improve compliance in the fast-food, restaurants and cafes sector are priorities for the FWO.”

Judge Anastasis (Tass) Liveris, who oversaw the case, found that Territory Tough had displayed a disregard for its obligations under the Fair Work Act and had shown no contrition for a breach affecting a vulnerable young worker.

“The exploitation of vulnerable employees undermines the objects of the workplace relations system,” Judge Liveris said.

“The pecuniary penalty is required to act as a deterrent mechanism in preventing similar contraventions by people and organisations in the industry.”