$180,288 penalty for labour service after attempted deception

A labour hire company and its former manager have been dealt an expensive blow after failing to correctly pay strawberry farm workers and providing falsified documents to the Fair Work Ombudsman.

Korserv and its former manager, Janghwan Choi, recently appeared in court after it was alleged that doctored payslips, bank account records, superannuation records and piecework agreements with false signatures were deliberately provided to a Fair Work inspector to hide non-payments to farm workers.

The Fair Work Ombudsman first attempted to conduct a compliance audit on a strawberry farm in the Glass House Mountains region of Queensland in 2023. Inspectors requested time and wage records from Korserv, whereby the documents relating to work done by 14 employees between July and September 2023 were provided.

At least some of these workers were visa holders.

According to the Fair Work Ombudsman, no purported payments were made, with Choi subsequently admitting Korserv had subcontracted two other companies to do so.

The provision of false and misleading documents breached the Fair Work Act, with Judge Gregory Egan of the Federal Circuit and Family Court calling the conduct “an egregious flouting” of workplace laws.

The violation, he identified, “was an attempt to fraudulently mislead and deceive the Fair Work inspector whose role it was to properly investigate possible contraventions of workplace law”.

A $150,240 penalty was ordered against Korserv, and a further $30,048 against Choi.

The company has since shut down, with Judge Egan noting that, due to “the nature and scale of the duplicity demonstrated on the part of [Korserve and Choi], penalties ought to be imposed which will generally deter any future conduct of a similar nature by others”.

FWO Anna Booth said such a “blatant breach” warranted significant penalties.

“Anyone considering providing false or misleading documents to Fair Work inspectors should be aware that we will take strong action to protect the integrity of our investigations,” she said.

“Employers need to be aware that taking action to try to rid the agriculture sector of this sort of behaviour is a priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman.”

The regulator also said the protection of visa holders remains a priority.

“We treat breaches of workplace laws involving visa holder workers particularly seriously because they can be vulnerable, as they are often unaware of their rights, heavily reliant on their employers, or reluctant to complain.”

In a media release yesterday, 20 August, the FWO announced the commencement of legal action against the operators of a labour hire company in NSW regarding the payment of two migrant fruit pickers.

As recently covered, a publication from the Migrant Justice Institute revealed the enduring, systemic exploitation of migrant workers in Australia, specifically in horticulture, hospitality, cleaning, and retail. The research found that migrant workers continue to face not only severe underpayments but also coercion, intimidation, and restriction.

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