Melbourne cosmetics clinic fined $28k for failure to comply

The operators of a Melbourne-based cosmetics clinic received $28,195 in penalties through the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) for failing to act on a compliance notice.

A cosmetics clinic based in Melbourne, Port Melbourne Cosmetic Clinic, trading as Bayside Skin and Laser, has faced penalties that totalled $28,195.

This followed the operator’s failure to act on a compliance notice that required them to back pay two of their employees and for “providing a false and misleading pay slip to one of the workers”, the Ombudsman found.

The FWO identified these two workers as a part-time nurse and a full-time clinic manager.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said companies need to be aware of the costs for failure to act on compliance notices.

“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 in addition to the need to pay workers amounts required by such notices,” she said.

Back in June 2023, an FWO inspector issued a compliance notice to the operator after it had not paid staff according to the worker’s minimum entitlements under the Nurses Award 2020 and the Fair Work Act’s National Employment Standards.

In a statement, it said: “The inspector formed a belief that the nurse was only partially paid for work performed during the final two weeks of her employment, and was not paid accrued but untaken annual leave entitlements at the end of her employment.

“The inspector also formed a belief that the clinic manager was not paid one week’s wages in lieu of notice of her termination.”

It added: “It is also alleged that the company breached the Fair Work Act by providing a false and misleading pay slip to the nurse, which showed she was paid $1,398 net for her final pay period when she had not been.”

Booth said: “Pay slips provide employees with the clarity they need about their pay, and we expect every employer to follow laws requiring them to provide pay slips to their employees within one business day of them being paid.”

The FWO said: “The company paid the amounts owed to the workers only after the Fair Work Ombudsman commenced legal action.”

The Ombudsman found that Robin Abdelmalek was involved in both of these contraventions and thus issued him a $4,699 fine as part of the $28,195 incurred by the operator.

Justice Catherine Symons saw this judgment as a precedent to deter other employers from making similar breaches.

“It has been repeatedly emphasised in penalty cases that general deterrence must serve a purpose that ensures that any penalty imposed is not seen as ‘the cost of doing business’,” she said.

“Penalties must be set at a level which demonstrates that there are serious consequences for non-compliance, to deter others from failing to comply.”

She added that “there is a continued need to remind the community of the important role that payslips play in the protection of employee entitlements”.

“Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact the Fair Work Ombudsman for free assistance,” Booth said.