FWO secures penalties for pay-slip law breaches

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has secured $61,796 in penalties in court against the former operators of a Melbourne café and restaurant business.

Through the Federal Circuit and Family Court, the FWO has imposed a $55,003 penalty against P49 Collingwood, which previously operated as “Project 49” in Collingwood before it closed, and a $6,793 penalty against the company’s sole director, Rocco Esposito.

These penalties were imposed on the Melbourne-based company for breaching pay slip laws and failing to comply with a compliance notice issued by the FWO, which required the company to calculate and back-pay entitlements owing to a worker it employed between February 2021 and August 2022.

It was found that Esposito was involved in the pay-slip contravention.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said employers that fail to act on compliance notices need to be aware they can face penalties in court in addition to 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, as the company and director in this case have found out,” said Booth.

“Employers should also be aware that taking action to improve compliance in the fast food, restaurants and cafes sector is a priority for the FWO. Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance.”

P49 Collingwood back paid most of the worker’s entitlements only after the FWO commenced legal action – a total of 15 months after payment was due.

The court has also ordered the company to calculate and pay any outstanding superannuation entitlements.

The investigation began after the FWO received a request for assistance from the affected worker, who was employed full-time by the company to perform barista, managerial and supervisory duties.

After looking into it, a Fair Work inspector issued a compliance notice to the company in November 2022 after forming a belief that the worker had not been paid any wages in her final two weeks of employment and was not paid her accrued but untaken annual leave entitlements after her employment was complete.

Judge John O’Sullivan, who oversaw the case, found that the contraventions were deliberate and that there was a need to impose penalties to deter both the company, the director, and other employers from similar conduct in future.

“It is necessary and appropriate to impose a penalty that signals non-compliance with statutory notices will not be tolerated. The efficacy of these notices could be undermined if recipients think that a failure to comply has no meaningful consequences,” said Judge O’Sullivan.