The Fair Work Ombudsman has secured $29,200 in penalties against the former operators of a café in Northern Queensland.
A penalty of $26,000 was imposed against Smart Vision Developments (Qld) Pty Ltd, which operated the Grand Central Café in Townsville’s Central Village precinct until it ceased trading.
The court also imposed a penalty of $3,200 against the company’s former director John Atkinson.
The penalties were imposed after the company failed to comply with a compliance notice requiring it to back-pay entitlements to two workers employed as food and beverage attendants from June to September 2020. Atkinson was involved in these contraventions.
In addition, the court has ordered the company to back-pay the workers in full in addition to paying superannuation and interest.
Investigators looked into the company after receiving a request for assistance from the two workers, one who was aged 19 at the time.
An inspector issued four compliance notices in March last year after forming the belief the workers had been underpaid minimum wages, evening, weekend and overtime entitlements under the the Restaurant Industry Award 2020.
The workers were also underpaid payment in lieu of notice of termination and annual leave entitlements under the National Employment Standards.
Image credit: Outdoors Queensland