Broken vows: Wedding dress supplier underpays young workers

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) has secured a total of $51,604 in penalties and back-pay orders against a Sydney-based bridal store.

The business, 10 Foster Street, formerly known as “Georgie Elsissa Pty Ltd”, which operated a design studio and bridal store in Sydney’s Leichhardt, has been imposed a $30,000 penalty in the Federal Circuit and Family Court.

This penalty was imposed after FWO investigators issued a compliance notice, which the business failed to comply with, asking it to calculate and back pay entitlements owing to four workers it employed for various periods between June 2015 and September 2021.

Of this group of workers, two of the employees were young, aged 23 and 25 at the time of their employment. On top of the $30,000 penalty, the court also ordered the company to back pay the workers $21,604, which was still owed to them under the original compliance notice, plus superannuation and interest.

Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth noted that employers who fail to act on compliance notices need to be aware they can face substantial 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 significant penalties and back-pay orders,” said Booth.

“Employers also need to be aware that taking action to protect young workers is among our top priorities. Any employees with concerns about their pay or entitlements should contact us for free advice and assistance.”

The FWO began its investigation after receiving requests for assistance from the affected workers, who, at the time, were engaged in full-time and part-time roles. In terms of their roles, the FWO found that one worker was engaged in an administration and marketing position, while the others were in design roles, including a pattern maker, draper and design-and-sales assistant.

Upon that, a Fair Work inspector issued a compliance notice to 10 Foster Street in May 2022 after forming a belief that the workers were not paid accrued but untaken annual leave entitlements at the end of their employment.

The inspector formed a belief that one of the workers was also not paid payment-in-lieu-of-notice-of-termination entitlements when her employment ended.